Com-plāint′, n.

n. [Fr. complainte, Pr. complainta, complanta, It. compianta, compianto. See COMPLAIN.] 1. Expression of grief, regret, pain, censure, or resentment; lamentation; murmuring. I have, and most unwillingly, of late Heard many grievous, I do say, my lord, Grievous complaints of you. Shak. 2. Cause or subject of complaint or murmuring. The poverty of the clergy in England hath been the complaint of all who wish well to the church. Swift.

3. The cause of complaint, or of pain and uneasiness, in the body; a malady; a disease;—usually applied to disorders not violent. Arbuthnot.
4. (Law.) A form of legal process, which consists of a formal allegation or charge against a party made or presented to the appropriate court or officer, as for a wrong done or a crime committed; in the latter case, generally under oath.

Syn.—Lamentation; murmuring; sorrow; grief; disease; illness.