Meanings
ache1
present singular third person aches · participle present aching · past ached · obsolete past oke · participle past ached · obsolete participle past oke · obsolete participle past aken · alternative obsolete ake
- intransitivestativeTo suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
Every muscle in his body ached.
4 more examples
My feet were aching for days after the marathon.
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 13And 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 113–114The 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, →OCLCSynonyms: hurt, suffer, agonize, anguish, hurt, pain, passion, suffer
plural aches · alternative obsolete ake
- Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.
You may suffer a minor ache in your side.
2 more examples
The aches and pains died down after taking an analgesic.
Fill all thy bones with aches.
c. 1610, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I, Scene IISynonyms: misery, pain, wark · Antonyms: pang, throe, trouble
- Emotional suffering causing discomfort and physical pain.
ache2
ache3
Ache4
- A language spoken by the Yi people of South-Western China.
AChE5
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
verbTo cause someone or something to suffer pain.
nounContinued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.
More synonyms by meaning
verbhave a desire for something or someone who is not present
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
ache · verb, noun
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂égos
- Proto-Germanic*akiz
- Proto-West Germanic*aki
- Proto-Germanic*akaną“to ache”
- Proto-West Germanic*akan
- Old Englishacan
- Middle Englishaken
- Englishache
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →ache · noun
- Latinapium“celery”
- Old Frenchache
- Middle Englishache
- Englishache
From Middle English ache, from Old French ache, from Latin apium (“celery”). Reinforced by modern French ache.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَأَلَّمَ, وَجِعَ
- تَأَلَّمَ (taʔallama)be in pain
- وَجِعَ (wajiʕa)be in pain
- أَلَم (ʔalam)dull pain
- وَجَع (wajaʕ)dull pain
Bulgarian боли́, бо́лка
- боли́ (bolí)be in pain
- бо́лка (bólka)dull pain
Chinese Mandarin 疼, 痛
- 疼 (téng)be in pain
- 痛 (tòng)be in pain
- 疼痛 (téngtòng)dull pain
- 痛 (tòng)dull pain
- 疼 (téng)dull pain
Czech bolet, bolest
- boletbe in pain
- bolestdull pain
Danish gøre ondt, smerte
- gøre ondtbe in pain
- smertedull pain
Dutch pijn
- pijndull pain
Esperanto dolori
- doloribe in pain
Finnish särkeä, jomottaa
- särkeäbe in pain
- jomottaabe in pain
- särkydull pain
- kipudull pain
French faire mal, avoir mal
- faire malbe in pain
- avoir malbe in pain
- douleurdull pain
German weh tun, schmerzen
- weh tunbe in pain
- schmerzenbe in pain
- Schmerzdull pain
Greek πονάω, υποφέρω
- πονάω (ponáo)be in pain
- υποφέρω (ypoféro)be in pain
- άλγος (álgos)dull pain
- πόνος (pónos)dull pain
Hindi दर्द करना, दर्द
- दर्द करना (dard karnā)be in pain
- दर्द (dard)dull pain
Hungarian fáj, sajog
- fájbe in pain
- sajogbe in pain
- fájdalomdull pain
Indonesian sakit, nyeri
- sakitdull pain
- nyeridull pain
Irish tinneas
- tinneasdull pain
Italian dolere, penare
- dolerebe in pain
- penarebe in pain
- patirebe in pain
- tribolarebe in pain
- soffrirebe in pain
- doloredull pain
- malannodull pain
- malesseredull pain
Japanese 痛む, 痛い
- 痛む (itamu)be in pain
- 痛い (itai)be in pain
- 痛み (itami)dull pain
Korean 아프다, 아픔
- 아프다 (apeuda)be in pain
- 아픔 (apeum)dull pain
Malay sengal
- sengaldull pain
Māori pākikini, pākinikini
- pākikinibe in pain
- pākinikinibe in pain
- rakabe in pain
- kōrangarangabe in pain
- māioiobe in pain
- mamaebe in pain
- ngārurube in pain
- hīwiniwinibe in pain
- mamaedull pain
- kōrangarangadull pain
Norwegian Bokmål smerte
- smertedull pain
Polish boleć, tępy ból
- bolećbe in pain
- tępy bóldull pain
Portuguese doer, dor
- doerbe in pain
- dordull pain
Punjabi ਪੀੜ, پِیڑ
- ਪੀੜ (pīṛ)dull pain
- پِیڑ (pīṛ)dull pain
Romanian durea, durere
- dureabe in pain
- dureredull pain
Russian боле́ть, боль
- боле́ть (bolétʹ)be in pain
- боль (bolʹ)dull pain
Slovak bolieť, bolesť
- bolieťbe in pain
- bolesťdull pain
Spanish doler, sufrir
- dolerbe in pain
- sufrirbe in pain
- dolordull pain
Swedish värka, ha ont
- värkabe in pain
- ha ontbe in pain
- värkdull pain
Thai เจ็บ, ความเจ็บ
- เจ็บ (jèp)be in pain
- ความเจ็บ (kwaam-jèp)dull pain
Turkish ağrımak, acımak
- ağrımakbe in pain
- acımakbe in pain
- ağrıdull pain
- acıdull pain
Ukrainian болі́ти, хворі́ти
- болі́ти (bolíty)be in pain
- хворі́ти (xvoríty)be in pain
- захворі́ти (zaxvoríty)be in pain
- біль (bilʹ)dull pain
Urdu دَرْد
- دَرْد (dard)dull pain
Vietnamese nhức, đau
- nhứcbe in pain
- đaudull pain
- sự đau đớndull pain
Welsh gwŷn, cur
- gwŷndull pain
- curdull pain
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ache
Anagrams
Cite this entry
ache. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ache
“ache.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ache. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ache,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ache.
Source: ache on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.