Souffrance.
ETYM Old Eng. ache, AS. aece, ece, from acan to ache. Related to Ache.
A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain; SYN. aching.
ETYM Old Eng. dolor, dolur, dolour, French douleur, Latin dolor, from dolere. Related to Dole.
Painful grief; a poetic term; SYN. dolour.
ETYM Old Eng. grief, gref, Old Fren. grief, gref, French grief, Latin gravis heavy; akin to Greek barys, Skr. guru, Goth. kaúrus. Related to Barometer, Grave, Grieve, Gooroo.
1. Intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death); SYN. heartache, heartbreak, brokenheartedness.
2. Something that causes great unhappiness; SYN. sorrow.
ETYM Old Eng. peine, French peine, from Latin poena, penalty, punishment, torment, pain.
(Homonym: pane).
1. A bodily sensation of acute discomfort; SYN. painful sensation.
2. A symptom of some physical hurt or disorder; SYN. hurting.
3. Emotional distress; a fundamental feeling that people try to avoid; SYN. painfulness.
4. A bothersome annoying person; SYN. pain in the neck, nuisance.
Sense that gives an awareness of harmful effects on or in the body. It may be triggered by stimuli such as trauma, inflammation, and heat. Pain is transmitted by specialized nerves and also has psychological components controlled by higher centers in the brain. Drugs that control pain are known as painkillers or analgesics.
A pain message to the brain travels along the sensory nerves as electrical impulses. When these reach the gap between one nerve and another, biochemistry governs whether this gap is bridged and may also either increase or decrease the attention the message receives or modify its intensity in either direction. The main type of pain transmitter is known simply as “substance p”, a neuropeptide concentrated in a certain area of the spinal cord. Substance P has been found in fish, and there is also evidence that the same substances that cause pain in humans (for example, bee venom) cause a similar reaction in insects and arachnids (for instance, spiders).
Since the sensation of pain is transmitted by separate nerves from that of fine touch, it is possible in diseases such as syringomyelia to have no sense of pain in a limb, yet maintain a normal sense of touch. Such a desensitized limb is at great risk of infection from unnoticed cuts and abrasions.
ETYM Prob. for older prange. Related to Prong.
1. A mental pain or distress; SYN. sting.
2. A sharp spasm of pain.
3. Sudden sharp painful emotion; or; SYN. twinge.
1. The quality or state of being sore; tenderness.
2. Anger; irritation.
ETYM Old Eng. wo, wa, woo, AS. wâ, interj.; akin to Dutch wee, OS. and Old High Germ. wę, German weh, Icel. vei, Dan. vee, Swed. ve, Goth. wai; cf. Latin vae, Greek. Related to Wail.
Intense mournfulness; SYN. woefulness.