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Definition of plaint - 3 dictionary results

plaint

  [pleynt]
Use plaint in a Sentence
–noun
1. a complaint.
2. Law. a statement of grievance made to a court for the purpose of asking redress.
3. a lament; lamentation.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME < MF < L planctus a striking or beating (the breast) in grief, equiv. to plang(ere) to beat, strike, mourn for + -tus, suffix of v. action
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To plaint
plaint   (plānt)   
n.  

  1. A complaint.

  2. An utterance of grief or sorrow; a lamentation.


[Middle English, from Old French plainte, from Latin plānctus, lament, from past participle of plangere, to strike one's breast, lament; see plāk-2 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

plaint 
c.1225, "expression of sorrow," from O.Fr. pleint, from L. planctus "lamentation, beating," from plangere "to lament, to strike" (see plague). Connecting notion probably via beating one's breast in grief.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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