Etymograph

English

complain

Complain comes from Medieval Latin complangere ‘to bewail, complain’, from Latin plango ‘to strike, beat, flap’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl(e)h₂-n-g-e-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāngō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplango1‘to strike, beat, flap’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplangere1‘to strike, beat, as the breast in extreme grief, bewail’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500complangere1‘to bewail, complain’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400complaindre1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500complaynen1
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597complain1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English complain
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wiues of Windsor: “Now, Master Shallow, you'll complain of me to the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-Wiktionary, English complainreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl(e)h₂-n-g-e-tiWiktionary, English complainreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāngōWiktionary, English complainreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplangoWiktionary, English complain‘to strike, beat, flap’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplangereWiktionary, English complain‘to strike, beat, as the breast in extreme grief, bewail’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500complangereWiktionary, English complain‘to bewail, complain’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400complaindreWiktionary, English complain
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500complaynenWiktionary, English complain
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597complainWiktionary, English complain. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wiues of Windsor: “Now, Master Shallow, you'll complain of me to the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pel-

film, felt, push, simple, simply, filter, powder, fold, pulse, pillow, repeal, pollen, flaw, expel, repel, palpable, propel, palate, palladium, pall, palatable, pelt, compulsive, wallow, peloton, polemic, muffle, pollinate, tuple, pulver, palatal, palp, pillion, apoplexy, peplum, interpolate, 63 more

through Latin plango ‘to strike, beat, flap’

peel, plague, plaintive, 2 more

Today it means

verb To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “complain”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pel- / complain

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