pain

[peyn] /peɪn/
noun
1.
physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.
2.
a distressing sensation in a particular part of the body:
a back pain.
3.
mental or emotional suffering or torment:
I am sorry my news causes you such pain.
4.
pains.
  1. laborious or careful efforts; assiduous care:
    Great pains have been taken to repair the engine perfectly.
  2. the suffering of childbirth.
5.
Informal. an annoying or troublesome person or thing.
verb (used with object)
6.
to cause physical pain to; hurt.
7.
to cause (someone) mental or emotional pain; distress:
Your sarcasm pained me.
verb (used without object)
8.
to have or give pain.
Idioms
9.
feel no pain, Informal. to be intoxicated:
After all that free beer, we were feeling no pain.
10.
on / upon / under pain of, liable to the penalty of:
on pain of death.
11.
pain in the ass, Slang: Vulgar. pain (def 5).
12.
pain in the neck, Informal. pain (def 5).
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English peine punishment, torture, pain < Old French < Latin poena penalty, pain < Greek poinḗ penalty
Related forms
underpain, noun
unpaining, adjective
Synonyms
1–3. torture, misery, torment. Pain , ache , agony , anguish are terms for sensations causing suffering or torment. P ain and ache usually refer to physical sensations (except heartache ); agony and anguish may be physical or mental. P ain suggests a sudden sharp twinge: a pain in one's ankle. A che applies to a continuous pain, whether acute or dull: headache; muscular aches. A gony implies a continuous, excruciating, scarcely endurable pain: in agony from a wound. A nguish suggests not only extreme and long-continued pain, but also a feeling of despair. 2. pang, twinge, stitch. 4a. See care. 7. afflict, torment; trouble, grieve.
Antonyms
3. joy, delight. 7. please.
British Dictionary definitions for on pain of

pain

/peɪn/
noun
1.
the sensation of acute physical hurt or discomfort caused by injury, illness, etc
2.
emotional suffering or mental distress
3.
on pain of, subject to the penalty of
4.
(informal) Also called pain in the neck, (taboo) pain in the arse. a person or thing that is a nuisance
verb (transitive)
5.
to cause (a person) distress, hurt, grief, anxiety, etc
6.
(informal) to annoy; irritate
See also pains
Word Origin
C13: from Old French peine, from Latin poena punishment, grief, from Greek poinē penalty
Word Origin and History for on pain of

pain

n.

late 13c., "punishment," especially for a crime; also "condition one feels when hurt, opposite of pleasure," from Old French peine "difficulty, woe, suffering, punishment, Hell's torments" (11c.), from Latin poena "punishment, penalty, retribution, indemnification" (in Late Latin also "torment, hardship, suffering"), from Greek poine "retribution, penalty, quit-money for spilled blood," from PIE *kwei- "to pay, atone, compensate" (see penal). The earliest sense in English survives in phrase on pain of death.

Phrase to give (someone) a pain "be annoying and irritating" is from 1908; localized as pain in the neck (1924) and pain in the ass (1934), though this last might have gone long unrecorded and be the original sense and the others euphemisms. Pains "great care taken (for some purpose)" is first recorded 1520s (in the singular in this sense, it is attested from c.1300). First record of pain-killer is from 1853.

v.

c.1300, "to exert or strain oneself, strive; endeavor," from Old French pener (v.) "to hurt, cause pain," from peine, and from Middle English peine (n.); see pain (n.). Transitive meaning "cause pain; inflict pain" is from late 14c. That of "to cause sorrow, grief, or unhappiness" also is from late 14c. Related: Pained; paining.

on pain of in Medicine

pain (pān)
n.

  1. An unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder.

  2. One of the uterine contractions occurring in childbirth.

Slang definitions & phrases for on pain of

pain

Related Terms

feel no pain


Idioms and Phrases with on pain of

on pain of

Also, under pain of. Subject to the penalty of a specific punishment. For example, The air traffic controllers knew that going on strike was on pain of losing their jobs. At one time this idiom often invoked death as the penalty, a usage that is largely hyperbolic today, as in We'd better be back on time, under pain of death. [ Late 1300s ]

pain

In addition to the idioms beginning with pain
pain in the neck
also see: