Concise Oxford Dictionary gives whinge as (dialect or Australian) and tracks it back through Old English and Old High German to a probable root in the Germanic hwinisojan.
Geoff On Tuesday 19 August 2003 10:50 am, Dave Howorth wrote: > cr wrote: > >>Hmm, I rarely heard it used in England (though I haven't lived > >> there for 30+ years), but I've heard it used all the time here in > >> New Zealand, I thought it was a Kiwi-ism. > > Mark wrote: > > Whinge has been in common usage for as long as I can recall here > > (UK). Probably the thing to do is for someone with access to check > > the OED for the etymological references. > > I'd agree with both of you :-) It certainly gets used here in the UK > but the archetypical use must be the Antipodean phrase 'whinging > poms'. Is that Kiwi or Aussie? > > Cheers, Dave > > PS For any yanks who don't know the word, 'poms' is equivalent to > 'limeys' -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
