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whinge, v.
orig. Sc. and north. dial.
[North. form of OE. hwinsian, corresp. to OHG. win(i)sôn (MHG. winsen; cf. MHG., G. winseln):{em}OTeut. *{chi}winis{omac}jan, f. root of hwínan to WHINE. For the suffix cf. OE. cl{aeacu}nsian to CLEANSE, bletsian to BLESS, rícsian to rule, ON. hreinsa to cleanse; for the phonology of the form whinge cf. CLENGE, ringe, north. forms of CLEANSE, RINSE.]
intr. To whine; esp. to complain peevishly. Hence {sm}whinging (also w(h)ingeing) vbl. n. and ppl. a.
a1150 MS. C.C.C. Camb. 303 125/7 Mid hwinsunge & mid dreori{asg}um mode hio [sc. the dogs] cerdon ealle on{asg}ean to {th}an hunten. Ibid. 126/14 {Th}a hundes ne {asg}eswicon to hwinsianne mid ceariendre stæmne. 1513 DOUGLAS Æneis XIII. iii. 28 The remanent of that questing sort,..about the master hunteir With quhyngeand mouthis quaikand standis for feir. Ibid. 32 Thai hald thar mowthis still, Thar quhingeing and thar questing at his will Refrenis. 1562 WIN{ygh}ET Cert. Tractates Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 8 Dum doggis, quha..dar nother quhryne nor quhynge. 1720 C'TESS COWPER Diary (1864) 152 The second Time she said, whingeing [etc.]. 1725 RAMSAY Gentle Sheph. I. i, Daft Gowk! leave off that silly whindging Way. 1727 P. WALKER Life Semple etc. (1827) 316 You will die honourably before many Witnesses,..and I will die whinging upon a Pickle Straw. 1728 RAMSAY Last Sp. Miser xviii, The mair they whing'd, it gart me hug My swelling Purses. 1760-72 H. BROOKE Fool of Qual. (1792) I. v. 159 A little beggar boy,..whinging and shivering with cold. 1790 BURNS Elegy Capt. M{em} H{em} Epit. viii, Ony whiggish whingin' sot. a1837 R. NICOLL Poems (1842) 17, I needna greet, What gude on earth wad whingeing do? 1867 P. FITZGERALD Seventy-five Brooke St. I. xxi, This mean, whinging fellow. 1907 J. M. SYNGE Let. 31 Mar. (1971) 121 Forgive this contemptible sort of whinging. I am so lonely and miserable I cant help it. 1922 JOYCE Ulysses 10 You crossed her last wish in death and yet you sulk with me because I don't whinge like some hired mute from Lalouette's. 1946 K. TENNANT Lost Haven (1947) xvii. 272 She had lifted up her brief skirt..to exhibit her sand-fly bites... ‘You don't want to whinge about them... You had a good time, didn't you?’ 1955 S. BECKETT Molloy II. 172, I forgot that my son would be at my side,..whinging for food. 1965 Listener 2 Sept. 339/2 There is a stinging phrase in use, ‘wingeing Poms’ (translate into ‘complaining English’). 1969 Advertiser (Adelaide) 12 May 5/4 Stop whingeing and give a bloke a go, mates. 1973 B. BAINBRIDGE Dressmaker 8 If that girl didn't stop her wingeing, the neighbours would be banging on the wall. 1983 Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Mar. 236/1 In 1849, Arnold whinged to Clough that the age was ‘..unpoetical’. 1983 Sunday Times 31 July 33/1 ‘What sort of people do Australians hate most?’ ‘The whingeing Pom... Poms that come over and do nothing but whinge.’ 1984 Times 20 Jan. 10/7 This is not the month for whingeing criticisms. 1984 Sunday Times 9 Dec. 7/1 All must drill most Tuesday nights..and not whinge when the trousers of their best suits are crumpled and smutted under the uniform.
whereas
whine, v.
[OE. hwínan (only in Wídsí{edh} 128, of the whizzing of an arrow) = ON. hvína (Sw. hvina, Da. hvine) to whiz, whistle in the air; the weak grade of the stem is represented in ON. hvinr whiz, late OE. hwinsian (of dogs) to whine (see WHINGE).]
1. intr. To utter a low somewhat shrill protracted sound or cry, usually expressive of pain or distress; to cry in a subdued plaintive tone: also occasionally merely referring to the tone. a. of persons.
c1275 Sinners Beware 310 in O.E. Misc. 82 For chele hy gunne hwyne. For hunger hi hedde pyne. 13.. in Rel. Ant. II. 245 Ich rede tha come nou to me, anaunter last ha whyne. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 158 Not chauntyng nor brekyng your notes, nor whynynge in ye nose as many women done. 1534 MORE Comf. agst. Trib. II. Wks. 1182/2 Yet canne thys peuyshe gyrl neuer ceace whining and pulyng for fear. c1590 J. STEWART Poems (S.T.S.) II. 54 Scho quhyns, Scho schrinks, Scho vreyis, Scho vips for vo. 1606 SHAKES. Ant. & Cl. III. xiii. 101 Whip him..Till like a Boy you see him crindge his face, And whine aloud for mercy. a1654 SELDEN Table-T. (Arb.) 92 If a Man should make love in an ordinary Tone, his Mistress would not regard him; and therefore he must whine. a1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, To Whine, to cry squeekingly, as at Conventicles. 1727 GAY Begg. Op. I. xiii, The Boy thus, when his Sparrow's flown,..Whines, whimpers, sobs and cries. 1852 THACKERAY Esmond II. xiii, The crowd of beggars..whining for alms. 1868 L. M. ALCOTT Little Women viii, You can't go, Amy; so don't be a baby and whine about it.
b. of animals, esp. dogs; also formerly, to whinny as a horse, or to cry as an otter.
13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 1336 {Th}e helmes {th}ai seyen bri{ygh}t schine, {Th}e stedes nyen, and togider whine. c1386 CHAUCER Wife's Prol. 386 As an hors I koude byte and whyne [v.r. whine]. c1400 Beryn 481 He..scrapid the dorr welplich, & wynyd with his mowith, Aftir a doggis lyden. 1481 CAXTON Reynard xxxiv. (Arb.) 97, I saide I was also hongry, thenne wente we..and fond nothyng, tho whyned he and cryed. 1576 TURBERV. Venerie 238 An Otter whineth. 1577 WHETSTONE Gascoigne xxix, The horse..will neither winch nor whine. 1605 SHAKES. Macb. IV. i. 2 Thrice the brinded Cat hath mew'd..Thrice, and once the Hedge-Pigge whin'd. 1735 SOMERVILLE Chase II. 118 Let each Lash Bite to the Quick, 'till howling he return And whining creep amid the trembling Crowd. 1812 BYRON Ch. Har. I. Song ‘Good Night’ ix, Perchance my dog will whine in vain, Till fed by stranger hands. 1835 W. IRVING Tour Prairies 272 Occasionally a scoundrel wolf would scour off..and..sit down and howl and whine.
c. transf. of inanimate objects.
1874 J. G. HOLLAND Mistr. Manse xviii. 52 Till the old chimney howled and whined. 1885 TENNYSON Balin & Balan 341 The canker'd boughs..Whined in the wood. 1901 Munsey's Mag. XXIV. 555/1 The bullets..whined through the air. 1962 Which? Car Suppl. Oct. 140/1 Engine always whined when started from cold. 1972 Daily Tel. 16 May 9 Two minutes after the jet engines whine to a standstill she walked slowly down the special lateral gangplank. 1974 S. MIDDLETON Holiday iv. 42 Lawn-mowers whined.
2. To utter complaints in a low querulous tone; to complain in a feeble, mean, or undignified way.
1530 TINDALE Num. xi. 18 Ye haue whyned in the eares of the Lorde saynge: who shall geue vs flesh to eate? 1568 Hist. Jacob & Esau II. iv, See and the knaue be not for his dinner whining. 1654 WHITLOCK Zootomia 29 Since Life is but as a Game at Tables, if the fore-game be not to thy wish; neither whine nor Curse, but rowse thy care to an after-Game. 1756 JOHNSON in Boswell, I know not why any one but a school-boy in his declamation should whine over the Common-wealth of Rome. 1769 Ibid., A man knows it [sc. death] must be so, and submits. It will do him no good to whine. 1880 DIXON Windsor III. xxiv. 238 He had whined and begged for liberty. 1891 KIPLING Light that Failed x, I won't whine when my punishment comes.
3. trans. a. To cause to pass away by whining; to waste in whining.
1607 SHAKES. Cor. V. vi. 98 At his Nurses teares He whin'd and roar'd away your Victory. 1656 OSBORN Adv. Son iii. (ed. 4) 100 That Taylor, reported to have whin'd away himselfe for the love of Queen Elizabeth.
b. To utter in a whining tone.
1698 FRYER Acc. E. India & P. 282 At the Reading the Epistle and Gospel, they change their Cope, Mantle, and Hood, and Whine them forth. a1699 J. BEAUMONT Psyche I. ccxxiv, To sigh, and weep, and whine Out long complaints. 1781 COWPER Conversat. 577 Canting and whining out all day the word. 1848 DICKENS Dombey xxx, ‘If one is to go on living through continual scenes like this,’ she whined. 1880 M. E. BRADDON Just as I am iii, Tomorrow morning he will be whining his recantation.
Hence the use of 'whinge' suggests a Scottish or Northern English origin, according to OED. Rare to find such little difference in two English words. I think my choice of which to use depends on the surrounding consonant sounds I'm choosing as much as anything. |
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