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Ache

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ache¹

  • /eɪk/

Rhymes with -eɪk

Where it comes from

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.

verb aches · aching · ached · oke

  1. intransitive, stative To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed. My feet were aching for days after the marathon.
  2. literary, rare, transitive To cause someone or something to suffer pain.

noun aches · ake

  1. Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain. You may suffer a minor ache in your side.
  2. Emotional suffering causing discomfort and physical pain.

ache²

  • /eɪt͡ʃ/

Rhymes with -eɪtʃ

Where it comes from

From Middle English ache, from Old French ache, from Latin apium (“celery”). Reinforced by modern French ache.

noun aches · ake

  1. historical, obsolete Parsley.

ache³

  • /ˈeɪt͡ʃ/

Rhymes with -eɪtʃ

Where it comes from

Representing the pronunciation of the letter H.

noun aches · ake

  1. rare Rare spelling of aitch.aitch

Ache⁴

proper noun

  1. A language spoken by the Yi people of South-Western China.

AChE⁵

noun

  1. abbreviation, uncountable Abbreviation of acetylcholinesterase.acetylcholinesterase Coordinate term: BuChE

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