Inherited from Middle English aken (verb), and ache (noun), from Old English acan (verb) (from Proto-West Germanic *akan, from Proto-Germanic *akaną (“to ache”)) and æċe (noun) (from Proto-West Germanic *aki, from Proto-Germanic *akiz), traditionally explained as from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂égos.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian eeke, ääke (“to ache, fester”), Low German aken, achen, äken (“to hurt, ache”), German Low German Eek (“inflammation”), North Frisian akelig, æklig (“terrible, miserable, sharp, intense”), West Frisian aaklik (“nasty, horrible, dismal, dreary”), Dutch akelig (“nasty, horrible”).
The verb was originally strong, conjugating for tense like take (e.g. I ake, I oke, I have aken), but gradually became weak during Middle English; the noun was originally pronounced as /eɪt͡ʃ/ as spelled (compare breach, from break). Historically the verb was spelled ake, and the noun ache (even after the form /eɪk/ started to become common for the noun; compare again break which is now also a noun). The verb came to be spelled like the noun when lexicographer Samuel Johnson mistakenly assumed that it derived from Ancient Greek ἄχος (ákhos, “pain”) due to the similarity in form and meaning of the two words.
Meanings
Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.
The aches and pains died down after taking an analgesic.
Fill all thy bones with aches. c. 1610, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I, Scene II:
You may suffer a minor ache in your side.
Emotional suffering causing discomfort and physical pain.
Inherited from Middle English aken (verb), and ache (noun), from Old English acan (verb) (from Proto-West Germanic *akan, from Proto-Germanic *akaną (“to ache”)) and æċe (noun) (from Proto-West Germanic *aki, from Proto-Germanic *akiz), traditionally explained as from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂égos.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian eeke, ääke (“to ache, fester”), Low German aken, achen, äken (“to hurt, ache”), German Low German Eek (“inflammation”), North Frisian akelig, æklig (“terrible, miserable, sharp, intense”), West Frisian aaklik (“nasty, horrible, dismal, dreary”), Dutch akelig (“nasty, horrible”).
The verb was originally strong, conjugating for tense like take (e.g. I ake, I oke, I have aken), but gradually became weak during Middle English; the noun was originally pronounced as /eɪt͡ʃ/ as spelled (compare breach, from break). Historically the verb was spelled ake, and the noun ache (even after the form /eɪk/ started to become common for the noun; compare again break which is now also a noun). The verb came to be spelled like the noun when lexicographer Samuel Johnson mistakenly assumed that it derived from Ancient Greek ἄχος (ákhos, “pain”) due to the similarity in form and meaning of the two words.
Meanings
(intransitive, stative) To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
My feet were aching for days after the marathon.
Every muscle in his body ached.
And that thing made of ſound and ſhovv / VVhich mortals have miſnamed A Beau, / (But in the language of the ſky / Is call'd a tvvolegg'd butterfly) / VVill make your very heartſtrings ake / VVith loud and everlaſting clack, […] 1766, James Beattie, “[Miscellany Poems.] The Wolf and Shepherds, a Fable.”, in Poems on Several Subjects. […], new edition, London: […] W. Johnston, […], →OCLC, stanza 3, pages 113–114:
By'r lakin, I can goe no further, Sir, / My old bones akes:^([sic]) here's a maze trod indeede / Through fourth rights, & Meanders: / by your patience, I needes muſt reſt me. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 13:
(literary, rare, transitive) To cause someone or something to suffer pain.
fur dulî (be in pain) · km ចាប់ (be in pain) · eo dolori (be in pain) · sh бо̀лети (be in pain) · cmn 疼 (be in pain) · it dolere (be in pain) · gl adoecer (be in pain) · kab qreḥ (be in pain) · pt doer (be in pain) · bg боли́ (be in pain) · pl boleć (be in pain) · lmo dorì (be in pain) · ru боле́ть (be in pain) · fi jomottaa (be in pain) · de schmerzen (be in pain) · uk хворі́ти (be in pain) · gl doer (be in pain) · sv ha ont (be in pain) · mi raka (be in pain) · ckb یێش (be in pain) · cs bolet (be in pain) · sl boleti (be in pain) · sv värka (be in pain) · km ឈឺ (be in pain) · mi ngāruru (be in pain) · lmo dör (be in pain) · hy ցավել (be in pain) · ar وَجِعَ (be in pain) · mk боли (be in pain) · it soffrire (be in pain) · be хварэ́ць (be in pain) · da gøre ondt (be in pain) · sk bolieť (be in pain) · th เจ็บ (be in pain) · enm aken (be in pain) · cmn 痛 (be in pain) · hu sajog (be in pain) · vi nhức (be in pain) · it penare (be in pain) · km គ្រាំ (be in pain) · tr acımak (be in pain) · tr ağrımak (be in pain) · lo ເຈັບ (be in pain) · ckb ئێش (be in pain) · hu fáj (be in pain) · it tribolare (be in pain) · el πονάω (be in pain) · qu nanay (be in pain) · gl rabiar (be in pain) · ja 痛む (be in pain) · gl sufrir (be in pain) · ro durea (be in pain) · mi hīwiniwini (be in pain) · zdj ukoza (be in pain) · hi दर्द करना (be in pain) · ko 아프다 (be in pain) · dsb bóleś (be in pain) · fr avoir mal (be in pain) · mi mamae (be in pain) · be бале́ць (be in pain) · de weh tun (be in pain) · mi kōrangaranga (be in pain) · es doler (be in pain) · uk болі́ти (be in pain) · as বিষোৱা (be in pain) · uk захворі́ти (be in pain) · ka სტკივა (be in pain) · el υποφέρω (be in pain) · sh бо̀љети (be in pain) · sh bòleti (be in pain) · fr faire mal (be in pain) · mi māioio (be in pain) · ar تَأَلَّمَ (be in pain) · fi särkeä (be in pain) · chr ᎤᏪᎯᏍᏓᏁᎭ (be in pain) · my ကိုက် (be in pain) · mi pākikini (be in pain) · ug ئاغرىماق (be in pain) · sh bòljeti (be in pain) · es sufrir (be in pain) · it patire (be in pain) · ja 痛い (be in pain) · mi pākinikini (be in pain) · mn өвдөх (be in pain)