English
moan
Moan comes from Middle English mone ‘a lamentation’, from Proto-Germanic *mainō ‘opinion’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *moy(-)n-éh₂.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*moy(-)n-éh₂1reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mainō2‘opinion’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mainu2reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*mān2reconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mone2‘a lamentation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596moan2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *mainō
- 2 Wiktionary, English moan
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto VII: “Much did the Craven seeme to mone his case…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*moy(-)n-éh₂Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *mainōreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mainōWiktionary, English moan‘opinion’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mainuWiktionary, English moanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*mānWiktionary, English moanreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moneWiktionary, English moan‘a lamentation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596moanWiktionary, English moan. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto VII: “Much did the Craven seeme to mone his case…”
The story
Old English *mān, *mǣn is inferred from Old English mǣnan (‘to complain over; grieve; mourn’).
Linked words
through Middle English mone ‘a lamentation’
Today it means
noun A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “moan”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *mainō. 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.