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moan

noun, verb, adj — 9 senses

moan

noun

UK /məʊn/ · US /moʊn/

Etymology From Middle English mone, mane, mān, (also as mene), from Old English *mān, *mǣn (“complaint; lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *mainu, from Proto-Germanic *mainō (“opinion; mind”). Cognate with Old Frisian mēne (“opinion”), Old High German meina (“opinion”). Old English *mān, *mǣn is inferred from Old English mǣnan (“to complain over; grieve; mourn”). More at mean.

1

A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure.

  • let out a deep moan
  • We heard the distant moan of a stag in pain.
2

Obsolete A lament or sorrow.

  • to make one's moan
  • it shall be my daily grief and moan, that I am so dull, & do so little[…]But if when all is done that we can do, you will leave us nothing but our tears and moans for self-destroyers, the sin is yours, and the suffering shall be yours.1662, Richard Baxter, Now or never the holy, serious, diligent believer justified, encouraged, excited and directed, and the opposers and neglecters convinced by the light of Scripture and reason, pages 131 and 239:
1 more example
  • to thee therefore oh Lord do I make my moan, to thee I render my humble petition, and pour out my soul which hath sinned against thee: Oh Lord, I beseech thee for thy infinite mercy in Jesus Christ, to take pity upon mee[…]1660, John Ball, A treatise of divine meditation, page 255:
Derived terms
moanful, moanless, moansome

moan

verb

Etymology From Middle English mone, mane, mān, (also as mene), from Old English *mān, *mǣn (“complaint; lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *mainu, from Proto-Germanic *mainō (“opinion; mind”). Cognate with Old Frisian mēne (“opinion”), Old High German meina (“opinion”). Old English *mān, *mǣn is inferred from Old English mǣnan (“to complain over; grieve; mourn”). More at mean.

1

UK To complain about; to bemoan, to bewail; to mourn.

  • Much did the Craven seeme to mone his case […].1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
  • 1708, Matthew Prior, the Turtle and the Sparrow Ye floods, ye woods, ye echoes, moan / My dear Columbo, dead and gone.
2

Poetic To grieve.

3

To make a moan or similar sound.

  • She moaned with pleasure and squirmed with delight from receiving oral sex.
  • They shared a common dread that he would begin moaning.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:
4

To say in a moan, or with a moaning voice.

  • ‘Please don't leave me,’ he moaned.
5

Colloquial To complain; to grumble.

6

Obsolete To distress (someone); to sadden.

  • which infinitely moans me1626 February 1 (licensing date; Gregorian calendar), John Fletcher [et al.], “The Faire Maide of the Inne”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act V, scene i:
Derived terms
bitch and moan, make moan, moaner, moaning dove, moaningly, moaning Minnie, moany, piss and moan, unmoaned
Related terms
bemoan, lament, murmur, protest

moan

adj

Etymology From moa + -an.

1

Of or pertaining to a moa.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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