You can get a pain if you break a pane, but a pane alone will not cause you pain. Well, maybe if the pane is so dirty that you can’t see through it . . .
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Pain | Pane |
|---|---|
 |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive
Plural for the noun: pains Third person present verb: pains |
Noun
Plural: panes |
| Noun: Physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury
[Pains] Careful effort
[Medical] An unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder [Medical] One of the uterine contractions occurring in childbirth Verb, intransitive:
Verb, transitive: |
A single sheet of glass in a window or door
A panel, as of a wainscot, ceiling, door, etc. A flat section, side, or surface, as one of the sides of a bolthead A flat section or face, as of a cut diamond |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: That boy ain’t feelin’ no pain a’tall. She’s in great pain. I sympathize with those who suffer from back pain. George is having chest pains. For those who have suffered the pain of loss, we have this pill. Oh man, this job is a pain in the neck. Marty’s a pain. Great pains have been taken to repair the engine perfectly. She took pains to see that everyone ate well. He is at pains to point out that he isn’t like that. Joey is suffering from growing pains. All persons are commanded to keep silent on pain of imprisonment. You know what they say: No pain, no gain. Labor pains are different for every woman. Verb, intransitive: He was deeply pained. Verb, transitive: Her legs had been paining her something fierce. My feet really pained me after the hike. |
We’ll have to replace that pane in the front door.
Look, Maggie, we can use this to make it look like the window panes have been etched! A computer screen will display other smaller window areas, sometimes called panes or panels, showing relevant information, options, or open programs. Nah, I prefer the pane of stamps; I hate those rolls. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: overpained, pained, painstaking, unpained, unpaining Noun: underpain |
Adjective: paneless |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English in the sense of suffering inflicted as punishment for an offense is from the Old French peine, which is from the Latin poena meaning penalty, and later pain. | Late Middle English originally denoting a section or piece of something, such as a fence or strip of cloth, from the Old French pan, which is from Latin pannus meaning piece of cloth. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Pain versus Pane
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits
Hut in the Winter Mountains by Steinchen is under the CC-BY-0, via Pixabay and Dentist, 1880s by Charles Alt is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Revised as of 16 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie