groann.
/ɡrəʊn/, U.S. /ɡroʊn/ a. An act of groaning; a low vocal murmur, emitted involuntarily under pressure of pain or distress, or produced in voluntary simulation as an expression of strong disapprobation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > moaning or groaning > [noun]
woningc950
groaningc1000
yomeringc1000
i-mone1297
bemoaningc1300
groanc1325
moan1599
moaning1724
granking1807
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > cry of emotion or pain > [noun] > moan or groan
groaningc1000
groanc1325
grank1513
moan1599
moaning1724
whoo1891
c1325 Body & Soul in Map's Poems (Camden) 343/1 As thing al seek hit ȝaf a gron.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3731 Wit þis gaue ysaac a grane [Gött., Trin. Cambr. grone].
c1420 Anturs of Arth. 620 (Thornton) Scho grete one dame Gaynour, with granes so grylle.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xiii. 35 Men herd nocht ellis bot granys & dyntis.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 459 The peple..Rewmyd in reuth with mony grysly grayne.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 149 Thay gyrnd with hiddous granis.
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxv. 126 The pitifull grones, the lamentable shrikes.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Ciiijv Loues deepe grones, I neuer shall regard. View more context for this quotation
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 11 There was heard a great lamentation, accompanied with grones and skreeches.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 106 Often he turns his Eyes, and, with a Groan, Surveys the pleasing Kingdoms, once his own. View more context for this quotation
1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) vi. iv Weary of my unanswer'd Groans,..I languish for Relief.
1796 H. Macneill Waes o' War i. 9 ‘Wha this rudely wakes the sleeping?’ Cried a voice wi' angry grane.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth viii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 229 A low groan went through the assembly.
1846 G. A. Lundie Missionary Life Samoa xviii. 113 Groans of woe and tears of penitence were all around.
1872 C. Darwin Expression Emotions Man & Animals xii. 285 The North American Indians express astonishment by a groan.
1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer (ed. 2) I. 8 His singing ended in a sort of groan.
b. attributed to inanimate objects.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > mournful or plaintive sound > [noun]
groan1608
suuma1616
requiem1635
knell1647
moan1730
plaint1730
complaining1735
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear ix. 47 Such grones of Roaring winde, and rayne, I ne're remember To haue heard. View more context for this quotation
1718 N. Rowe tr. Lucan Pharsalia 183 In hollow Groans the falling Winds complain.
1797 A. Radcliffe Italian I. i. 16 The pauses of silence, that succeeded each groan of the mountain.
Compounds
groan-like adj.
ΚΠ
1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross II. 146 Her groan-like sighs..pierced my ears.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
groanv.
/ɡrəʊn/, U.S. /ɡroʊn/ 1. figurative.1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cxxxiii. sig. H4v Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groane . View more context for this quotationa1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. ii. 77 Religion grones at it. View more context for this quotation1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Jewish War iii. viii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 830 Now may the laws of our forefathers..well groan to purpose.1871 J. H. Newman Arians 4th Cent. (ed. 3) iv. 361 The lively statement of Jerome: ‘The whole world groaned in astonishment to find itself Arian’.1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 44 Needs there groan a world in anguish just to teach us sympathy?
a. intransitive. To breathe with a deep-toned murmur; to utter a low deep sound expressive of grief or pain.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > moaning or groaning > moan or groan [verb (intransitive)]
groan7..
yomer971
woneOE
quaina1400
croaka1500
granka1500
moan1798
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > cry of emotion or pain > [verb (intransitive)] > moan or groan
groan7..
grunt1340
grenta1387
grintc1386
moanc1700
7.. Blickl. Gloss. in Blickl. Hom. 258/1 Granode vel asten, rugiebam.
c1000 Ags. Ps. cv[i]. 20 [25] Ac hi granedan, and grame spræcan.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 43 Summe þer graninde sikeð.
c1230 Hali Meid. 47 To..greden ai & granen i þe eche grure of helle.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12755 Swiðe he wes idræcched. and graneni [read granen; c1300 Otho gronie] agon.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 7813 King willam..bigan sone to grony & to febly al so.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 798 He is ofte seke and ay granand.
a1400–50 Alexander 1219 [He] Gers many grete syre grane & girdis þurȝe maillis.
c1400 Lay-Folks Mass-bk. App. iv. 325 Þe Pope ful sore gon grone.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 766 With-in the dykys thai gert feill Sotheroun grayn.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 106 My wambe is of ȝour luif sa fow That as ane gaist I glour and grane.
1568 Christis Kirk on Grene in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 266 He granit lyk ony gaist.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 51 Produce the Plough, and yoke the sturdy Steer, And goad him till he groans beneath his Toil. View more context for this quotation
1753 J. Bartlet Gentleman's Farriery viii. 74 He [a horse] coughs sharply by fits..and frequently groans with it.
1829 T. Hood Dream Eugene Aram in Gem 1 113 A dozen times I groan'd; the dead Had never groan'd but twice!
1888 M. E. Braddon Fatal Three I. vi. 113 Greswold groaned aloud.
b. to groan inwardly, to groan in oneself, to groan in the spirit, †to groan with the heart.
ΚΠ
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17836 Wit al þair flesche þai quok on-nan, And wit þair hertes can þai gran.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) John xi. 33 Whan Iesus sawe her wepe..he groned in the sprete.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. iii. sig. Bb3 He deepely sigh'd, and groaned inwardly . View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) John xi. 38 Iesus therefore againe groning in himselfe, commeth to the graue. View more context for this quotation
1747 P. Doddridge Some Remarkable Passages Life Col. J. Gardiner 21 He could not forbear groaning inwardly.
c. quasi-transitive. To breathe (one's life, soul) away or out in groaning. Similarly, to groan one's heart out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] > be dying
to have one foot in the (also his, etc.) grave?1483
to draw on1484
to gasp up the ghost1577
gore1577
to turn one's face to the wall1579
to gasp one's last1603
groan1642
not to be long for this world1665
strugglea1674
to falter forth or out1814
to sprawl one's last1837
1642 J. Eaton Honey-combe Free Justific. 106 Christ groaned out his blood and life upon the Crosse.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 447 He fell, and deadly pale Groand out his Soul with gushing bloud effus'd. View more context for this quotation
1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur ii. 60 Stretcht on the cursed Tree his Body hangs, Groaning its Life away in dying Pangs.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. xii. 266 I'se warrant, I might grane my heart out or ony body wad gie me either a bane or a bodle.
d. To talk in a groaning voice, grumble.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > discontent or dissatisfaction > state of complaining > complain [verb (intransitive)]
murkeOE
misspeakOE
yomer971
chidea1000
murkenOE
grutch?c1225
mean?a1300
hum13..
plainta1325
gruntc1325
plainc1325
musea1382
murmurc1390
complain1393
contrary1393
flitec1400
pinea1425
grummec1430
aggrudge1440
hoinec1440
mutterc1450
grudge1461
channerc1480
grunch1487
repine1529
storm?1553
expostulate1561
grumblea1586
gruntle1591
chunter1599
swagger1599
maunder1622
orp1634
objurgate1642
pitter1672
yelp1706
yammer1794
natter1804
murgeon1808
groan1816
squawk1875
jower1879
grouse1887
beef1888
to whip the cat1892
holler1904
yip1907
peeve1912
grouch1916
nark1916
to sound off1918
create1919
moana1922
crib1925
tick1925
bitch1930
gripe1932
bind1942
drip1942
kvetchc1950
to rag on1979
wrinch2011
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality i, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. III. 19 The tane was aye graning about giving tribute to Cæsar.
e. attributed to inanimate objects.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > mournful or plaintive sound > mournful or plaintive [verb (intransitive)]
knella1400
plaina1425
mourna1522
groan1602
complain1694
moan1805
dirge1907
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida i. sig. C2 The flintie rocks groand at his plaints.
1668 R. Steele Husbandmans Calling (1672) viii. 207 The field groans that bears the grain which thou thus abusest.
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 177 Would it na fret the hardest stane Beneath the Luckenbooths to grane?
1862 B. Taylor Poet's Jrnl. 1st Eve., Symbol The forests fain would groan.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [verb (intransitive)] > make sound
groan1486
groin1486
troat1611
1486 Bk. St. Albans E v An hert belowys and a bucke gronys.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxxvii. 100 A Hart belloweth, a Bucke groneth.
1686 R. Blome Gentlemans Recreation ii. 76 A Hart Belloweth, a Buck Groaneth or Twateth.
3. transitive.† b. To bewail, lament. Obsolete. rare.
a. To utter with groans; with an exclamation or sentence as object. Also with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > cry of emotion or pain > [verb (transitive)] > moan or groan
groan1609
under-groan?1611
droula1670
moan1820
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > moaning or groaning > bemoan [verb (transitive)] > utter with moans or groans
bemoan1393
groan1609
droula1670
moan1820
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. i. 122 So dying loue liues still,..O ho grones out for ha ha ha. View more context for this quotation
1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 83 To sigh his Griefs, and groan his Pains.
1787 R. Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xxiv, in Poems (new ed.) 62 The creature grain'd an eldritch laugh.
1861 H. Bushnell Christian Nurture ii. vii. 359 He [sc. Christ] lives it [sc. the truth], acts it forth, groans it in his Gethsemane.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Sea Dreams 141 ‘No trifle’, groan'd the husband.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > moaning or groaning > bemoan [verb (transitive)]
woneOE
bemoanc1000
quaina1400
groana1762
begroan1837
a1762 Lady M. W. Montagu Poems (1785) 2 They groan the cruel load they're doom'd to bear.
1766 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances III. 113 The Sun hides its Face, for Grief; and the Winds groan her Departure.
4.
a. intransitive. To be oppressed or overburdened to the point of groaning. Const. beneath, under, with.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > be under authority [verb (intransitive)] > be under oppressive rule
groan1613
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 71 Under which Turkish servitude it groned, till our dayes.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 145 For aboue fiue hundred yeares Persia groaned vnder many Lords and Tyrants.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 163. ¶7 If the Affliction we groan under be very heavy.
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Second 12 As Atlas groan'd The world beneath, we groan beneath an Hour.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. xiv. 280 They might take a severe revenge for the barbarities they had groaned under during more than two ages.
1762 C. Churchill Ghost i. 8 Modest merit..Is left in poverty to groan.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. iv. 428 The injustice under which he appeared to himself to groan.
1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike (new ed.) iv. 50 Their interests demand the reductions under which we groan.
1863 T. Woolner My Beautiful Lady iii. 146 Groaning beneath a Despot.
b. attributed to inanimate objects (sometimes with mixture of sense 5).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > have weight [verb (intransitive)] > be or become heavy > be weighed down
aggregea1393
ingravidate1657
groan1697
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 129 With strokes of Anvils Ætna groans below.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xx. 309 Those Arguments, Answers, Defences, and Replications which the Press groans under.
1764 Oxford Sausage 191 The Chimnies blaze the Tables groan.
1789 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) III. 10 The press groans with productions, which, in point of boldness, make an Englishman stare.
1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 46 Come, feast! the board groans with the flesh of men.
1874 J. S. Blackie On Self-culture 25 Though the library-shelves groan with books.
5. transferred. To make a deep harsh sound resembling a groan.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > harsh or discordant quality > harsh or discordant [verb (intransitive)] > snort, snore, snarl, or groan
groan1513
snort1582
snarl1675
snore1823
gruff1855
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid vi. vi. 62 Vnder the paysand and the hevy charge Gan grane or geig ful fast the jonit barge.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 58 He heard the wheels..Groan heavily along the distant road.
1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 103 The key turns, and the door upon its hinges groans.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 46 The great organ almost burst his pipes, Groaning for power.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xxii. 172 The ice is so driven in around us as to grate and groan against the sides of our little vessel.
1875 A. Maclaren Serm. 2nd Ser. vii. 121 The swaying branches creak and groan.
6. To express earnest longing by groans; to yearn or long, as if with groans; hence figurative of things (cf. 4b). Const. for, to with infinitive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > longing or yearning > long or yearn [verb (intransitive)]
thirstc893
forlongc1175
longc1225
alonga1393
greena1400
suspirec1450
earnc1460
to think long?1461
sigh1549
groanc1560
hank1589
twitter1616
linger1630
hanker1642
to hang a nose1655
hangc1672
yammer1705
yen1919
c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxiv. 46 Ȝe preiche, ȝe fleich, ȝe frane, Ȝe grane ay quhill thay grant.
1608–9 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) I. 88 It seems the gallows groans for him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 278 This foule deede, shall smell aboue the earth With Carrion men, groaning for Buriall. View more context for this quotation
1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 17 Nothing but holy, pure, and cleare, Or that which groneth to be so.
1643 J. Angier Lancashires Valley of Achor 10 It is now harvest time, our Corn..is in the field, ripe and groaning for the sickle.
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) The Gallows groans for him, le Gibet l' attend avec impatience.
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the First 13 How groaning Hospitals eject their Dead? What numbers groan for sad Admission there?
7. transitive.
a. To express disapproval of by means of groans.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > disapprove of [verb (transitive)] > express disapproval of > by sound or exclamation
hootc1175
to clap out1550
explose?c1550
explode1563
hiss1598
exsibilate1601
to hum up, down1642
out-hiss1647
chuckle1681
catcall1700
scrape1773
groan1799
to get the (big) bird1825
boo1833
fie-fie1836
goose1838
sibilate1864
cluck1916
bird1927
slow handclap1949
tsk-tsk1966
tut1972
1799 A. Seward Lett. (1811) V. 205 They would be hissed, groaned, and cat-called.
1861 N.Y. Tribune 19 Dec. Yesterday they met, as agreed upon, and, after groaning the Ward Committee, went to the mayor's office.
b. to groan down: to silence by means of groans.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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