[eɪk], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a continuous or prolonged dull pain in a part of one's body
(e.g: the ache in her head worsened)


Phrases:
- aches and pains

Origin:
Old English æce (noun), acan (verb). In Middle English and early modern English the noun was spelled atche and rhymed with ‘batch’ and the verb was spelled and pronounced as it is today. The noun began to be pronounced like the verb around 1700. The modern spelling is largely due to Dr Johnson, who mistakenly assumed its derivation to be from Greek akhos ‘pain’

[eɪk], (Verb)

Definitions:
- suffer from a continuous dull pain
(e.g: my legs ached from the previous day's exercise)


Phrases:
- aches and pains

Origin:
Old English æce (noun), acan (verb). In Middle English and early modern English the noun was spelled atche and rhymed with ‘batch’ and the verb was spelled and pronounced as it is today. The noun began to be pronounced like the verb around 1700. The modern spelling is largely due to Dr Johnson, who mistakenly assumed its derivation to be from Greek akhos ‘pain’