complain

Before complaining meant objecting about slow Wi-Fi or a disappointing sandwich, it involved a much more physical performance: the Latin mourner might literally beat the breast in grief. That is the force behind plangere, “to strike,” which passed into Medieval Latin complangere and then Old French complaindre. By the late 14th century, English complaynen could describe sorrow, criticism, and even a formal accusation—an emotional lament gradually acquiring paperwork. Its cousin complaint still preserves the old theatrical note in “a plaintive sound,” while a legal complaint turns private pain into an official document, such as the pleading that begins a civil case in U.S. courts. So when someone complains, the ancient breast-beating has not vanished entirely; it has merely moved from the chest to the email inbox.