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pain

[peyn]

Origin

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noun

physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.

a distressing sensation in a particular part of the body: a back pain.

mental or emotional suffering or torment: I am sorry my news causes you such pain.

pains,

laborious or careful efforts; assiduous care: Great pains have been taken to repair the engine perfectly.

the suffering of childbirth.

Informal. an annoying or troublesome person or thing.

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verb (used with object)

to cause physical pain to; hurt.

to cause (someone) mental or emotional pain; distress: Your sarcasm pained me.

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Pain is one of our favorite verbs.

So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

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verb (used without object)

to have or give pain.

Idioms

feel no pain, Informal. to be intoxicated: After all that free beer, we were feeling no pain.

10.

on/upon/under pain of, liable to the penalty of: on pain of death.

11.

pain in the ass, Slang: Vulgar. pain (def. 5).

12.

pain in the neck, Informal. pain (def. 5).

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English peine punishment, torture, pain < Old French < Latin poena penalty, pain < Greek poinḗ penalty

Related forms

un·der·pain, noun

un·pain·ing, adjective

Synonyms
1–3. torture, misery, torment. Pain, ache, agony, anguish are terms for sensations causing suffering or torment. Pain and ache usually refer to physical sensations (except heartache); agony and anguish may be physical or mental. Pain suggests a sudden sharp twinge: a pain in one's ankle. Ache applies to a continuous pain, whether acute or dull: headache; muscular aches. Agony implies a continuous, excruciating, scarcely endurable pain: in agony from a wound. Anguish suggests not only extreme and long-continued pain, but also a feeling of despair. 2. pang, twinge, stitch. 4a. See care. 7. afflict, torment; trouble, grieve.

Antonyms
3. joy, delight. 7. please.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Pain

Collins

World English Dictionary

pain (peɪn)

—n
1.	the sensation of acute physical hurt or discomfort caused by injury, illness, etc
2.	emotional suffering or mental distress
3.	on pain of subject to the penalty of
4.	informal pain in the neck, Also called: pain in the arse a person or thing that is a nuisance

—vb
5.	to cause (a person) distress, hurt, grief, anxiety, etc
6.	informal to annoy; irritate

[C13: from Old French peine, from Latin poena punishment, grief, from Greek poinē penalty]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

pain

c.1300, "punishment," especially for a crime; also "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

EXPAND

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 1520s (in the singular in this sense, it is attested from c.1300). First record of pain-killer is from 1853.

COLLAPSE

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

pain (pān)
n.

An unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder.
One of the uterine contractions occurring in childbirth.

Slang Dictionary

pain definition

n.
a bother; an irritating thing or person. : Those long meetings are a real pain.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

pain

In addition to the idioms beginning with pain, also see at pains; feel no pain; for one's pains; growing pains; no pain, no gain; on pain of.