AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question How did the expression "pining for" originate?
Answer Dear Penny:
The verb "pine" comes from the Old English "pinian," which was derived from the Latin word "poena," meaning pain.
In the modern sense, "pining for" someone or something means that the person is suffering from the absence or loss of that person or thing. Incidentally, the "pine tree" comes from a completely different root and has no relationship to the verb form.
"The Oxford English Dictionary, [OED]" which traces the ORIGINS of words in the English language gives the first WRITTEN usage in English as "about" the year 1250: "He pine man wid sorwe and dred," or "He suffers with sorrow and dread."
Here is the definition from the OED:
To afflict with pain or suffering; to cause to suffer; to torment, trouble, distress.
To exhaust or waste (a person, animal, etc.) with physical or emotional suffering, esp. with hunger, disease, or grief; to cause to languish, to wear out; to deprive of food, to starve. Freq. with out, away, to death, etc.
