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griev·ance (grēvəns)
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n.
1.
a. An actual or supposed circumstance regarded as just cause for complaint.
b. A complaint or protestation based on such a circumstance: The warden addressed the inmates' grievances.
2. Indignation or resentment stemming from a feeling of having been wronged.
3. Obsolete
a. The act of inflicting hardship or harm.
b. The cause of hardship or harm.
[Middle English grevaunce, from Old French grevance, from grever, to harm; see GRIEVE.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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