whine

Meanings

Noun

• A long-drawn, high-pitched complaining cry or sound.
• A complaint or criticism.

Verb

• To utter a high-pitched cry.
• To make a sound resembling such a cry.
• To complain or protest with a whine or as if with a whine.
• To move with a whining sound.
• To utter with the sound of a whine.

Origin

• From Middle English whynen, hwinen, whinen, from Old English hwīnan, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīnan, from Proto-Germanic *hwīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwey-. Cognate with Old Norse hvína, whence Icelandic hvína, Norwegian hvine, Swedish vina, and Danish hvine.
• Despite the strong similarity in sound and meaning, not related with German weinen, Dutch wenen, from *wainōną (for which see dialectal ween#Etymology 3).