plaintive [pléintiv] (12) a (声・音などが)悲しげな
語源 (Merriam-Webster)
Did You Know?
Like its relative "plangent," "plaintive" is often used to describe sad sounds. "A plaintive wail," for example, is a common use. "Plaintive" and "plangent" (along with relatives "plaintiff" and "complain") ultimately derive from the Latin verb plangere, meaning "to strike," "to beat one's breast," or "to lament." This Latin verb led to "plaint," an Anglo-French word (and now also an English word) meaning "lamentation." "Plaint" is the root of Middle English "plaintif" (meaning "lamenting" or "complaining"), which gave rise to "plaintive" as well as the noun "plaintiff."
中英語 plaintif 「悲しんだ、不満な」 ← アングロフレンチ語 plaint 「悲嘆」 ← ラテン語 plangere 「打つ、(胸をたたいて)大げさに悲しんだり怒ったりする、嘆き悲しむ」
同語源の語
plangent [plǽndʒənt] (30) a 大きく強いリズムの、(音などが)悲しげな
plaintiff [pléintif] (8) n 原告
complain [kəmpléin] (2) v 不満を言う、(苦痛などを)訴える
意味 (Longman)
a plaintive sound is high, like someone crying, and sounds sad
plaintive cry/voice/sound etc
▪ the plaintive cry of the seagull
「(音が)人が泣いているように高く悲しげな」
例文 (Longman)
▪ The song's plaintive melody expresses perfectly the feeling of loneliness that she feels after her lover has gone.
▪ There he left them, knowing that they were safe, despite their plaintive cries.
▪ Ranulf came in with a series of plaintive questions but Corbett dismissed him with a look.
▪ Seam combine melancholy, rage and pure plaintive yearning to devastating effect.
▪ The melody is plaintive, not energetic like the hymns in church.
類義語
「悲しい(げな)」の類義語は、 pensive の後で扱いました