COMPLAIN,
1. To utter expressions of grief to lament.
I will complain in the bitterness of my spirit. Job 7 .
I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed. Psalms 77 .
2. To utter expressions of censure or resentment to murmur to find fault.
And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. Numbers 11 .
3. To utter expressions of uneasiness, or pain. He complains of thirst. He complains of a head-ache.
4. To charge to accuse of an offense to present an accusation against a person to a proper officer.
To A B, one of the justices of the peace for the county of S, complains C D.
This verb is regularly followed by of, before the cause of grief or censure as, to complain of thirst, of ignorance, of vice, of an offender.
5. To represent injuries, particularly in a writ of Audita Querela.
COMPLAIN, To lament to bewail.
They might the grievance inwardly complain.
This use of complain is uncommon, and hardly legitimate. The phrase is properly elliptical.
The King James Bible has stood its ground for nearly 400 years. However, during that time the English language has changed, and with it the meanings of some words it used. Here are more than 6,500 words whose definitions have changed since 1611.Wikipedia
Read More