# pine

Pronunciation: say "PYN" /paɪn/

## Noun

1. An evergreen coniferous tree of the genus Pinus, with needle-shaped leaves and woody cones, or a similar tree also commonly called a pine.
   - Simple: A tall evergreen tree with needles and cones, or a similar tree that people also call a pine.
   - _Wind hissed through the pines above the campsite._
   - _The ridge is forested mostly with pine, with a few stands of aspen near the creek._
2. The wood obtained from pine trees.
   - Simple: Wood from a pine tree.
   - _The cabin's floors are knotty pine, worn smooth by decades of boots._
   - _Pine takes stain unevenly, so many woodworkers apply a conditioner first._
4. The bench on which players sit while they are not in the game. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The seat at the side where players wait when they are not playing.
   - _After two fumbles, the rookie was riding the pine for the rest of the game._
   - _A star in college, he spent three seasons gathering splinters on the pine._
7. The tropical fruit usually called a pineapple. *(dialectal, Australia, Guyana, South Africa)*
   - Simple: The fruit also known as a pineapple.
   - _She sliced a pine into wedges and served it with the grilled fish._
   - _Roadside stalls outside Georgetown sell pines and coconuts by the dozen._
8. A counter, or the top of a bar where drinks are served and set down. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The counter in a bar or shop.
   - _Pull up a stool and lean on the pine while I mix your drink._
   - _Regulars line the pine every Friday after work._

## Verb

3. To long intensely for someone or something absent or lost, often to the point of suffering; to grieve for.
   - Simple: To miss someone or something so much that you feel sad and unhappy.
   - _Many emigrants pine for a homeland they can no longer return to._
   - _He spent the whole summer pining for a girl who barely knew his name._
5. To languish, growing weak and thin or wasting away through grief or distress.
   - Simple: To slowly get weak and thin because you are very sad or worried.
   - _Prisoners held for years in damp, dark cells often pine away, losing weight and strength._
   - _Cut off from her family, she pined away until she was little more than skin and bone._

## Noun

6. A painful longing for someone or something. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A deep, painful wish for someone or something.

## Verb

9. To cause pain to someone; to torment. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To hurt someone or make them suffer.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4, 7–8** — Latin pīnus passed into Proto-West Germanic as *pīnā, giving Old English *pīne and Middle English pyne. Pinus is a doublet, and fat may be a relative.
**Meaning 6** — Middle English pyne, pine probably goes back to Old English *pīne ("pain") and Proto-West Germanic *pīnā, a word for "pain, torment, torture." That word may come from Latin poena ("punishment"), itself from Ancient Greek poinḗ ("penalty, fine, bloodmoney"), and it reached Germanic along with Christianity. Pain is related, as are Old Norse pína, Old High German pīnōn and Middle Dutch pinen.
**Meanings 3, 5, 9** — The Proto-West Germanic noun *pīnā ("pain, torment, torture") produced the verb *pīnōn, which became Old English pīnian ("to torment") and Middle English pynen. German peinigen ("to torment, torture") and Icelandic pína ("to torment") are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pine (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).