Whine Again
Last week we took a look at six words meaning to complain, but we English-speaking
folk are not fenced in by a mere six ways of complaining. Here are a few
more.
From
Old Norse we get the word carp, to complain or find fault with. In Old Norse it meant to brag. Nobody’s sure about its source
before that. Etymologists believe that as carp made its way into English the
Old Norse word shook hands with the Latin word carpere, to slander or revile, & became the
English verb carp. All this happened in the 1200s. Though one might think
the complaining carp might be related to the fishy carp, there is no
relationship. The word for the fish probably came from Gothic through a
Germanic language, then through Vulgar Latin & Old French to land in
English in the 1300s, just in time to allow our linguistic ancestors to carp
about carp.
And
then there’s gripe. The to complain
meaning of gripe didn’t come to English until 1932, though the verb gripe
came to English about 1200. It originally meant to clutch or seize firmly & came from an Old English word
meaning to grasp at or attack.
The
verb grumble
came to English in the 1580s meaning to
complain in a low voice. It may have come from a Middle French
word meaning to mutter between the teeth
or from a Middle Dutch word meaning to
murmur, mutter, or grunt.
In
1885 the verb grouse showed up in English, meaning to complain. It came from British Army slang. It’s not clear where
those British soldiers picked it up, but there happens to be an Old French word
meaning to murmur, grumble, or complain: groucier.
That
Old French word that may have been the source of grouse was definitely the
source of another way to complain, grutch. Grutch showed up in the
English in the 1200s.
The
word snivel, to complain or whine tearfully,
appeared in English in the 1600s. Its Old English source, snyflan, meant to run at the nose. Interestingly, the
Middle English used the related noun snivelard to refer to one who weeps, cries or whines.
So
many ways to complain! Please register your complaints or comments in the
comments section.
We need to bring back the word "snivelard"! There are some political blowhards who weep on cue who really need that label. I love it that one word meant both brag and complain. We do find--again in another political blowhard--the tendency to either brag or whine pretty much every time they speak. A person who, some might say is full of, um, carp. :-)
ReplyDeleteDearest Miss Allen - so true that many snivelards appear to be full of, um, carp.
DeleteSo many ways to complain! And, yes, snivelard...great word. I wonder if we have an equal number of ways to praise.
ReplyDeleteHi Christine - I've had that same thought. And thanks for popping by.
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