ache

See also: Ache

English

Alternative forms

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 *ag- (“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 noun was originally pronounced as spelled, with a palatized ch sound (compare batch, from bake); 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. Historically the verb was spelled ake, and the noun ache. The verb came to be spelled like the noun when lexicographist 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): /eɪk/
  • 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)

  1. (intransitive) To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
    • c. 1593, Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene V:
      Fie, how my bones ache!
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 7, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      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.
  2. (transitive, literary, rare) To cause someone or something to suffer pain.
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

ache (plural aches)

  1. Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.
    • c. 1610, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I, Scene II:
      Fill all thy bones with aches.
Derived terms
Translations

See also

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/
  • Rhymes: -eɪt͡ʃ

Noun

ache (plural aches)

  1. (obsolete) Parsley.
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Representing the pronunciation of the letter H.

Noun

ache (plural aches)

  1. Rare spelling of aitch.

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

ache f (plural aches)

  1. celery (plant)

Etymology 2

Noun

ache m (plural aches)

  1. aitch, The name of the Latin-script letter H/h.

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English eċe, ace, æċe, from Proto-Germanic *akiz. Some forms are remodelled on aken.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaːk(ə)/, /ˈaːtʃ(ə)/, /ˈatʃ(ə)/, /ˈɛːtʃ(ə)/, /ˈɛtʃ(ə)/

Noun

ache (plural aches)

  1. Aching; long-lasting hurting or injury.
Descendants
References

Etymology 2

From Old French ache, from Latin apium.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈatʃ(ə)/, /ˈaːtʃ(ə)/

Noun

ache (plural aches)

  1. A plant of the genus Apium, especially celery.
Descendants
References

Norman

Noun

ache f (uncountable)

  1. (Jersey) wild celery

Synonyms

Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: a‧che

Verb

ache

  1. First-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of achar
  2. Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você?) present subjunctive of achar
  3. Third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of achar
  4. Third-person singular (você) negative imperative of achar
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