noun

1. penalty or punishment: obs. except in on (or upon or under) pain of, at the risk of bringing upon oneself (punishment, death, etc.)
2. a sensation of hurting, or strong discomfort, in some part of the body, caused by an injury, disease, or functional disorder, and transmitted through the nervous system
3. the distress or suffering, mental or physical, caused by great anxiety, anguish, grief, disappointment, etc.
4. the labor of childbirth
5. great care or effort to take pains with one's work
6. Slang an annoyance: often used in phrases specifying a part of the body (e.g., pain in the neck)

Etymology: ME peine < OFr < L poena, penalty, punishment: see penal

transitive verb

intransitive verb