# moan

> English word · Noun · IPA /məʊn/ · frequency rank #17,901

## Definitions
1. A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure.
2. A lament or sorrow.

## Etymology
From Middle English mone, mane, mān, (also as mene), from Old English *mān, *mǣn (“complaint; lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *mainu, from Proto-Germanic *mainō (“opinion; mind”).
Cognate with Old Frisian mēne (“opinion”), Old High German meina (“opinion”). Old English *mān, *mǣn is inferred from Old English mǣnan (“to complain over; grieve; mourn”). More at mean.

## Easily confused with
- **mom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mom)
- **mob** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mob)
- **mod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mod)
- **mon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mon)
- **moe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-moe)
- **MoS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mos)
- **mop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mop)
- **moi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-moi)
- **MOR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mor)
- **mol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mol)
- **moo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-moo)
- **mou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mou)
- **mot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mot)
- **mow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mow)
- **mun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mun)
- **MSN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-msn)
- **MSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-msa)
- **MTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mta)
- **Mya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-mya)
- **Moz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moan-vs-moz)

## Common misspellings (3)
`maon`, `mmoan`, `moann`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/moan