ache
English
Alternative forms
- ake (rare)
Etymology 1
From Middle English aken (verb), and ache (noun), from Old English acan (verb) (from Proto-Germanic *akaną (“to be bad, be evil”)) and æċe (noun) (from Proto-Germanic *akiz), both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eg- (“sin, crime”). Cognate with Low German aken, achen, äken (“to hurt, to ache”), North Frisian akelig, æklig (“terrible, miserable, sharp, intense”), West Frisian aaklik (“nasty, horrible, dismal, dreary”), Dutch akelig (“nasty, horrible”).
The verb was originally strong, conjugating for tense like take (e.g. I ake, I oke, I have aken), but gradually became weak during Middle English; the noun was originally pronounced as /eɪt͡ʃ/ as spelled (compare breach, from break). Historically the verb was spelled ake, and the noun ache (even after the form /eɪk/ started to become common for the noun; compare again break which is now also a noun). The verb came to be spelled like the noun when lexicographer Samuel Johnson mistakenly assumed that it derived from Ancient Greek ἄχος (ákhos, “pain”) due to the similarity in form and meaning of the two words.
Pronunciation
- enPR: āk, IPA(key): /ˈeɪk/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪk
Verb
ache (third-person singular simple present aches, present participle aching, simple past ached or (obsolete) oke, past participle ached or (obsolete) aken)
- (intransitive) To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
- My feet were aching for days after the marathon.
- Every muscle in his body ached.
- c. 1593, Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene V:
- Fie, how my bones ache!
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 4293071:
- The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.
- (transitive, literary, rare) To cause someone or something to suffer pain.
Derived terms
- ache for
Translations
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Noun
ache (plural aches)
- Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.
- You may suffer a minor ache in your side.
- The aches and pains died down after taking an analgesic.
- c. 1610, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I, Scene II:
- Fill all thy bones with aches.
Derived terms
- aches and pains
- achy
- backache
- ball ache
- bellyache
- earache
- face-ache
- headache
- hot ache
- stomachache
- toothache
- tummy ache
Translations
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See also
- hurt
References
- Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition.
Etymology 2
From Middle English ache, from Old French ache, from Latin apium (“celery”). Reinforced by modern French ache.
Pronunciation
- enPR: āch, IPA(key): /eɪt͡ʃ/
Audio (UK) (file)
- Rhymes: -eɪtʃ
Noun
ache (plural aches)
- (obsolete) parsley
Derived terms
- lovage (by folk etymology)
- smallage
Etymology 3
Representing the pronunciation of the letter H.
Pronunciation
- enPR: āch, IPA(key): /ˈeɪt͡ʃ/
Audio (UK) (file)
- Rhymes: -eɪtʃ
Noun
ache (plural aches)
- Rare spelling of aitch.
Anagrams
- Aceh, Chae, Chea, HACE, each, hace
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aʃ/
- Rhymes: -aʃ
- Homophones: hache, haches
Etymology 1
From Latin apia, plural of apium (“celery”).
Noun
ache f (plural aches)
- celery (plant)
Etymology 2
From Middle French ache, from Old French ache, from Vulgar Latin *acca, probably an extension of earlier ha, from an unindentified source. Compare Italian acca.
Noun
ache m (plural aches)
- aitch, The name of the Latin-script letter H.
Descendants
- → Persian: هاش
- → Romanian: haș
- → Russian: аш (aš)
- → Vietnamese: hát
Further reading
- “ache”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English eċe, ace, æċe, from Proto-West Germanic *aki, from Proto-Germanic *akiz. Some forms are remodelled on aken.
Alternative forms
- ake, eche
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈaːk(ə)/, /ˈaːt͡ʃ(ə)/, /ˈat͡ʃ(ə)/, /ˈɛːt͡ʃ(ə)/, /ˈɛt͡ʃ(ə)/
Noun
ache (plural aches)
- Aching; long-lasting hurting or injury.
Related terms
- aken
- loveache
Descendants
- English: ache
- Scots: ake
- Yola: aake
References
- “āche, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-12.
Etymology 2
From Old French ache, from Latin apium.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈat͡ʃ(ə)/, /ˈaːt͡ʃ(ə)/
Noun
ache (plural aches)
- A plant of the genus Apium, especially celery.
Descendants
- English: ache
References
- “āche, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-12.
Norman
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
ache f (uncountable)
- (Jersey) wild celery
- Synonym: céléri sauvage
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈa.ʃi/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈa.ʃe/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈa.ʃ(ɨ)/
- Rhymes: (Brazil) -aʃi, (Portugal) -aʃɨ
- Hyphenation: a‧che
Verb
ache
- inflection of achar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative