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Definition of pining - 4 dictionary results

pine

2[pahyn] verb, pined, pin⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to yearn deeply; suffer with longing; long painfully (often fol. by for): to pine for one's home and family.
2. to fail gradually in health or vitality from grief, regret, or longing (often fol. by away): Separated by their families, the lovers pined away.
3. Archaic. to be discontented; fret.
–verb (used with object)
4. Archaic. to suffer grief or regret over.
–noun
5. Archaic. painful longing.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME pinen to torture, torment, inflict pain, be in pain; OE pīnian to torture, deriv. of pīn torture (ME pine) < LL pēna, L poena punishment. See pain


1. See yearn. 2. dwindle, decline, languish, droop, waste.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pine 2   (pīn)   
v.   pined, pin·ing, pines

v.   intr.
  1. To feel a lingering, often nostalgic desire.

  2. To wither or waste away from longing or grief: pined away and died.

v.   tr. Archaic
To grieve or mourn for.
n.   Archaic
Intense longing or grief.

[Middle English pinen, from Old English pīnian, to cause to suffer, from *pīne, pain, from Vulgar Latin *pēna, penalty, variant of Latin poena, from Greek poinē; see kwei-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pine  (n.)
"coniferous tree," O.E. pintreow, the first element from L. pinus, from PIE *pei- "fat, sap, pitch" (cf. Skt. pituh "juice, sap, resin," pitudaruh "pine tree," Gk. pitys "pine tree," L. pinguis "fat"). Pine-top "cheap illicit whiskey," first recorded 1858, Southern U.S. slang.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2pine
Function: noun
: a dietary deficiency disease of sheep or cattle marked by anemia, malnutrition, and general debility; specifically : such a disease due to cobalt deficiency —compare MORTON MAINS DISEASE
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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