ˈplāntiv, -tēv also -təv adjective
Etymology: Middle English plaintif, from Middle French, from plaint + -if -ive — more at plaint
1. archaic : afflicted with grief or sadness : lamenting, pining
the aimless dead plaintive for Earth — Rupert Brooke
2. : expressive of suffering or woe : sorrowful , melancholy
he sighed, his voice became plaintive — Aldous Huxley
plaintive songs … about green hills and pines in the night wind and lonesomeness and dying away from home — R.O.Bowen
the clarinet sings, in its eerie plaintive tone — Sara R. Watson
• plain·tive·ly -tə̇vlē, -li adverb
• plain·tive·ness -tivnə̇s, -tēv- also -təv- noun -es