Kilo Lingo

la

feminine

/plɛ̃t/

Line drawing of plainte
Coloured illustration of plainte
#1598 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

complaint; formal complaint

Word origin

From the past participle of plaindre, itself from Latin plangere ('to beat the breast, to lament'). The legal sense of porter plainte ('to file a complaint') grew out of the older sense of a spoken lament.

Origin
Latin
Root
plangere
English cognates
plaint, complaint, plangent

Grammar

Genderfeminine
Pluralplaintes

Examples

.

She filed a complaint against her neighbour.

.

The head teacher received a complaint from the parents.

classée .

Her complaint was dropped without further action.

voisine.

Moans could be heard coming from the next room.

randonnée.

I do not want to hear a single complaint during the walk.

Where this fits

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French · Free printables

plainte: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "plainte" (complaint; formal complaint): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 32.