(a) Lamentation, mourning; a mournful outcry, lament; o ~ wise, in manner of a lament; (b) an earnest request, entreaty; also, a petition in a prayer; also, a plea for mercy.

(a) Complaint, murmuring, grumbling; a complaint, charge, grievance; also in proverb; on ~, for the purpose of complaining; word of ~, complaint; (b) bimenen (maken, sheuen, tellen, yeven) ~, to utter or present a complaint, complain; maken (putten) pleintes; finden pleintes in, discover complaints against (sb.); maken ~ of (on), state a grievance against (sb.), complain about; (c) cause for complaint; blame, reproach, culpability; rightwis ~, just reason for complaint; withouten ~, without reproach, blameless.

(a) A lawsuit, legal complaint, court case; also fig. [quot.: a1450(1413)]; also, an accusation [quot.: ?c1375]; (b) exacciounes and pleintes, monetary exactions and accusations; ~ of dette, suit for money owed; ~ of trespas, accusation of wrongdoing; ~ of record, officially recorded accusation; querele and ~, complaint and lawsuit; quereles or pleintes; formen (maken, meven, presenten, sheuen) ~, to make a legal complaint; affermen a ~, make a sworn accusation; iclepen pleintes, call for plaintiffs' charges; (c) chartre in ~, ?a charter introduced as evidence in a legal case.