moan

See also: möän and Moan

English

Etymology

From Middle English mone, mane, mān, (also as mene), from Old English *mān, *mǣn (“complaint; lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *mainu, from Proto-Germanic *mainō (“opinion; mind”).

Cognate with Old Frisian mēne (“opinion”), Old High German meina (“opinion”). Old English *mān, *mǣn is inferred from Old English mǣnan (“to complain over; grieve; mourn”). More at mean.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mōn, IPA^(key): /məʊn/
• (US) enPR: mōn, IPA^(key): /moʊn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊn
• Homophone: mown

Noun

moan (plural moans)

1. A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure.

   let out a deep moan

   We heard the distant moan of a stag in pain.

2. (obsolete) A lament or sorrow.

   to make one's moan ― to grieve, complain

   • 1662, Richard Baxter, Now or never the holy, serious, diligent believer justified, encouraged, excited and directed, and the opposers and neglecters convinced by the light of Scripture and reason, pages 131 and 239:

     it shall be my daily grief and moan, that I am so dull, & do so little […] But if when all is done that we can do, you will leave us nothing but our tears and moans for self-destroyers, the sin is yours, and the suffering shall be yours.

   • 1660, John Ball, A treatise of divine meditation, page 255:

     to thee therefore oh Lord do I make my moan, to thee I render my humble petition, and pour out my soul which hath sinned against thee: Oh Lord, I beseech thee for thy infinite mercy in Jesus Christ, to take pity upon mee […]

Translations

a low cry of pain

• Azerbaijani: inilti, zarıltı
• Bulgarian: стон (bg) m (ston), стенание n (stenanie)
• Catalan: gemec (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 呻吟 (zh) (shēnyín), 哀鸣 (zh) (aīmíng)

• Czech: nářek m
• Dutch: kreun (nl)
• Esperanto: ĝemo
• Finnish: voihkinta, voihkina, voihke
• French: gémissement (fr) m
• Galician: laio (gl) m, laído (gl) m
• German: Stöhnen (de) n, Ächzen (de) n
• Hindi: कराह (hi) m (karāh)
• Hungarian: nyögés (hu)
• Irish: ong m (literary)
• Italian: gemito (it) m
• Japanese: 呻き (ja) (うめき, umeki), 呻き声 (うめきごえ, umekigoe)
• Kabuverdianu: jemidu
• Kazakh: ыңыл (yñyl)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: axîn (ku) f, oxîn (ku) f, ofîn (ku) f

• Latgalian: voikuošona, gaudys
• Latvian: vaids
• Ottoman Turkish: زار (zar)
• Persian: ناله (fa) (nâle)
• Polish: jęk (pl) m
• Portuguese: gemido (pt) m, lamento (pt) m
• Romanian: geamăt (ro), gemete n pl
• Russian: стон (ru) m (ston)
• Scottish Gaelic: caoidh f
• Spanish: gemido (es) m, quejido (es) m
• Swedish: stönande (sv) n, stön (sv) n
• Ukrainian: сто́гін m (stóhin)
• Urdu: کَراہ m (karāh)

Verb

moan (third-person singular simple present moans, present participle moaning, simple past and past participle moaned)

1. (transitive, now rare) To complain about; to bemoan, to bewail; to mourn. [from 13th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     Much did the Craven seeme to mone his case […].

   • 1708, Matthew Prior, the Turtle and the Sparrow

     Ye floods, ye woods, ye echoes, moan / My dear Columbo, dead and gone.

2. (intransitive, now chiefly poetic) To grieve. [from 14th c.]

   Synonyms: lament; see also Thesaurus:be sad

3. (intransitive) To make a moan or similar sound. [from 18th c.]

   She moaned with pleasure and squirmed with delight from receiving oral sex.

   • 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:

     They shared a common dread that he would begin moaning.

4. (transitive) To say in a moan, or with a moaning voice. [from 19th c.]

   ‘Please don't leave me,’ he moaned.

5. (intransitive, colloquial) To complain; to grumble. [from 20th c.]

   Synonyms: whine; see also Thesaurus:complain

6. (transitive, obsolete) To distress (someone); to sadden. [15th–17th c.]

   Synonyms: deject; see also Thesaurus:sadden

   • 1626 February 1 (licensing date), John Fletcher [et al.], “The Faire Maide of the Inne”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act V, scene i:

     which infinitely moans me

Conjugation

Conjugation of moan

infinitive	(to) moan
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	moan	moaned
2nd-person singular	moan, moanest†	moaned, moanedst†
3rd-person singular	moans, moaneth†	moaned
plural	moan
subjunctive	moan	moaned
imperative	moan	—
participles	moaning	moaned

^†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

• bitch and moan
• make moan
• moaner
• moaning dove
• moaning Minnie
• moany
• piss and moan

 

Related terms

• bemoan

Translations

to complain

• Bulgarian: оплаквам се (oplakvam se)
• Catalan: gemegar (ca), llamentar-se, plànyer-se (ca)
• Dutch: klagen (nl)
• Finnish: valittaa (fi)
• French: se plaindre (fr), geindre (fr)
• German: klagen (de), beklagen (de)

  Alemannic German: chlaage

• Irish: éagaoin
• Italian: lamentarsi (it)
• Maori: hāngurunguru, kōnanunanu, kūnanunanu
• Polish: narzekać (pl)
• Portuguese: queixar-se (pt), reclamar (pt)
• Spanish: quejar (es)

to grieve (poetic)

• Finnish: valittaa (fi)
• German: wehklagen (de), beklagen (de)

to make a moan or similar sound

• Arabic: تَأَوَّهَ (ar) (taʔawwaha)
• Asturian: ximir (ast)
• Azerbaijani: inildəmək (az), zarıldamaq, inləmək (az)
• Belarusian: е́нчыць (jénčycʹ)
• Bulgarian: стена (bg) (stena)
• Catalan: gemegar (ca)
• Cherokee: ᎤᎵᏰᏗᎭ (uliyediha)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 呻吟 (zh) (shēnyín)

• Czech: sténat
• Dutch: kreunen (nl)
• Esperanto: ĝemi (eo)
• Estonian: oigama
• Finnish: voihkia (fi), ähkiä (fi)
• French: gémir (fr), mugir (fr)
• German: stöhnen (de), ächzen (de)

  Alemannic German: bërsche

• Hungarian: nyög (hu)
• Indonesian: mendesah (id)
• Italian: gemere (it)
• Japanese: 呻く (ja) (うめく, umeku)
• Latgalian: voikuot
• Latvian: vaidēt
• Macedonian: стенка (stenka)
• Maori: wheo, wheowheo, aurere, ngū
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stønne

  Nynorsk: stønna, stønne

• Oromo: aaduu (om)
• Persian: نالیدن (fa) (nâlidan)
• Polish: jęczeć (pl)
• Portuguese: gemer (pt)
• Romanian: geme (ro)
• Russian: стона́ть (ru) impf (stonátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: stenjati (sh)
• Spanish: gemir (es)
• Swedish: stöna (sv)
• Turkish: ahlamak (tr), inlemek (tr)
• Ukrainian: стогна́ти (stohnáty)
• Venetan: zèmere
• Vietnamese: rên rỉ (vi)

to say with a moaning voice

• Finnish: mankua (fi)
• German: jammern (de), stöhnen (de), schluchzen (de) (to sob, to snivel)

to grumble (colloquial)

• Finnish: nurista (fi)
• German: maulen (de), murren (de), motzen (de)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: nalîn (ku), axîn (ku), oxîn (ku), ofîn (ku)

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} geindre (Jersey)

See also

• murmur
• protest
• lament

Further reading

• “moan”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “moan”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Noam, Mona, mona, Mano, Oman, NOMA, Amon, noma, Onam, maon, MONA, mano

Breton

Alternative forms

• moen

Etymology

From Middle Breton moen, from Old Breton moin, from Proto-Brythonic *muɨn (“beautiful”). Compare Welsh mwyn (“mild, gentle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmwãːn/

Adjective

moan

1. thin, slender

   Synonym: tanav

   Antonym: tev

Mutation

Mutation of moan

	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
simple form	moan	voan	never occurs	never occurs
comparative	moanoc'h	voanoc'h	never occurs	-	superlative	moanañ	voanañ	unchanged	unchanged! exclamative	moanat	voanat	unchanged	unchanged

Finnish

Noun

moan

1. genitive singular of moa

Anagrams

• Oman, oman

Yola

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔːn/
• Homophone: mawen

Etymology 1

From Middle English mone, from Old English mān, from Proto-West Germanic *mainu.

Noun

moan

1. moan
   • 1927, “LAMENT OF A WIDOW”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 130, line 1:

     Ochone! to fo shul Ich maak mee moan,

     Ochone, to whom shall I make my moan,

Etymology 2

Noun

moan

1. Alternative form of mawen
   • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, line 1:

     A moan vrim a Bearlough an anoor vrim a Baak,

     A woman from the Bearlough and another from the Beak,

   • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, line 7:

     Shu ztaared an shu ztudied hi near parshagh moan,

     She stared and she studied by the other passive woman,

   • 1927, “YOLA ZONG O BARONY VORTH”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 132, line 1:

     Billeen Scalaane an hys yola moan,

     Billy Scallan and his old woman,

References

• Kathleen A. Browne (1927) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Sixth Series, Vol.17 No.2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland