Etymology
1. 1297, "punishment," especially for a crime; also (c.1300) "condition one feels when hurt, opposite of pleasure," from O.Fr.
peine, from L.
poena "punishment, penalty" (in L.L. also "torment, hardship, suffering"), from Gk.
poine "punishment," from PIE
*kwei- "to pay, atone, compensate" (see penal). The earliest sense in Eng. survives in phrase
on pain of death. The verb meaning "to inflict pain" is first recorded c.1300. Phrase
to give (someone) a pain "be annoying and irritating" is from 1908; localized as
pain in the neck (1924) and
pain in the ass (1934), though this last may be the original, unrecorded sense and the others euphemisms.
Pains "great care taken (for some purpose)" is first recorded 1528 (in the singular, in this sense, it is attested from c.1300);
painstaking (adj.) is 1556 as
paynes taking. First record of
pain-killer is from 1853.
2. From Middle English peyne, payne, from Old French and Anglo-Norman peine, paine, from Latin poena (“punishment, pain”), from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ, “bloodmoney, weregild, fine, price paid, penalty”), from Proto-Hellenic *kʷoinā́, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂ (“payment”) (whence also Proto-Slavic *cěnà (“price”)).
3. Doublet of peine. Compare Danish pine, Norwegian Bokmål pine, German Pein, Dutch pijn, Afrikaans pyn. See also pine (the verb). Partly displaced native Old English sār (whence Modern English sore). See: Danish '
pine', Norwegian '
pine', Dutch '
pijn'.
Verbs referencing "pain"
Swedish
pina, Sanskrit
चयते.