pine

Etymology 1

(Pinus brutia) (1)]] From Middle English pyne, from Latin pīnus, from Proto-Indo-European *peyH- (“sap, juice”). Cognate with Sanskrit पितु (pitu, “sap, juice, resin”). Doublet of pinus.

noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus.
   The northern slopes were covered mainly in pine.
   I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. (countable) Any tree (usually coniferous) which resembles a member of this genus in some respect.
3. (uncountable) The wood of this tree.
4. (archaic except Caribbean, Guyana, South Africa) A pineapple.

Etymology 2

From Middle English pine, pyne, from Old English *pīn (“pain”), from Proto-Germanic *pīnō (“pain, torment, torture”), possibly from Latin poena (“punishment”), from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ, “penalty, fine, bloodmoney”). Cognate to pain. Entered Germanic with Christianity; cognate to Middle Dutch pinen, Old High German pīnōn, Old Norse pína.

noun

1. (archaic) A painful longing.

Etymology 3

From Middle English pinen, from Old English pīnian (“to torment”), from Proto-Germanic *pīnōną, from Proto-Germanic *pīnō (“pain, torment, torture”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with German peinigen (“to torment, torture”), Icelandic pína (“to torment”).

verb

1. (intransitive) To languish; to lose flesh or wear away through distress.
   This night shall see the gaudy wreath decline, The roses wither and the lilies pine. 170?, Thomas Tickell, To a Lady; With a Present of Flowers
   Long lay the world in sin and error pining / Till He appear’d and the soul felt its worth 1855, John Sullivan Dwight (translator), “Oh Holy Night”, as printed in 1871, Adolphe-Charles Adam (music), “Cantique de Noël”, G. Schirmer (New York), originally by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure, 1847
   The way the story went was that the man's foot healed up all right but that he just pined away. 1994, Walter Dean Myers, The Glory Field, page 29
   Before I pine away (Pine away) May 15, 2001, Tool (lyrics and music), “Reflection” (track 11), in Lateralus
2. (intransitive) To long, to yearn so much that it causes suffering.
   Laura was pining for Bill all the time he was gone.
   Praline: "That parrot is definitely deceased. And when I bought it not half an hour ago you assured me that its lack of movement was due to it being tired and shagged out after a long squawk." Shopkeeper: "It's probably pining for the fiords." Praline: "Pining for the fiords, what kind of talk is that?" 1969-12-07, Monty Python, “Full Frontal Nudity, Dead Parrot sketch”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, spoken by shopkeeper and Mr Praline (Michael Palin and John Cleese)
   Ten years ago, liberals pined for a post-religious right, a different culture war. Be careful what you wish for. 2016-08-14, Ross Douthat, “A Playboy for President”, in The New York Times
   Of the group, Max (Room’s Jacob Tremblay) is the most nominally mature, at least biologically speaking; unlike his childhood companions, he’s entered the early throes of puberty, and spends a lot of his waking hours pining, rather chastely, for a classmate (Millie Davis). 14 August 2019, A. A. Dowd, “Good Boys Puts a Tween Spin on the R-rated Teen Comedy, to Mostly Funny Effect”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-03-04
3. (transitive) To grieve or mourn for.
4. (transitive) To inflict pain upon; to torment.