whinge

[ winj, hwinj ]

verb (used without object),whinged, whing·ing.British and Australian Informal.

to complain; whine.

Origin of whinge

First recorded before 1150; dialectal Scots, North England, earlier Scots quhynge, Old English hwinsian (not recorded in Middle English ); cognate with Old High German winsōn (German winseln ); derivative of Germanic base of whine

Other words from whinge

whing·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use whinge in a sentence

But this comes of old fashions, and of wearing a long Liddesdale whinger instead of a poniard of Parma.
The Fortunes of Nigel | Sir Walter Scott
Therewith he clapped his hand upon the priest's hand wherein the whinger was, and took this from him.
The History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland | John Knox
The tyrant came to him, and with the poor caitiff's own whinger first struck him in the breast, and afterwards cast it at him.
The History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland | John Knox
Mony tynes the half-mark whinger (for the halfe pennie whang).
Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character | Edward Bannerman Ramsay
Dand with a whinger and Meg with her glowing brand came speeding to their master's rescue.
Border Ghost Stories | Howard Pease

British Dictionary definitions for whinge

whinge

/ (wɪndʒ) informal /

verbwhinges, whingeing or whinged (intr)

to cry in a fretful way
to complain

noun

a complaint

Origin of whinge

from a Northern variant of Old English hwinsian to whine; related to Old High German winsan, winisan, whence Middle High German winsen

Derived forms of whinge

whingeing, noun, adjective
whinger, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse