Etymograph

English

painful

Painful comes from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-1‘to pay’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paynful1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1624painful1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English painful
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie: “The men bestow their times in fishing, hunting, warres,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-Wiktionary, English painful‘to pay’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paynfulWiktionary, English painful
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1624painfulWiktionary, English painful. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie: “The men bestow their times in fishing, hunting, warres,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’

penalty, poetry, punishment, poem, poet, punish, pine, titanium, penal, punitive, subpoena, impunity, whey, painless, onomatopoeia, 21 more

Today it means

adj Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “painful”. 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 *kʷey- / painful

Shirt and support for this word