"coniferous tree," O.E. pintreow, the first element from L. pinus, from PIE *pei- "fat, sap, pitch" (cf. Skt. pituh "juice, sap, resin," pitudaruh "pine tree," Gk. pitys "pine tree," L. pinguis "fat"). Pine-top "cheap illicit whiskey," first recorded 1858, Southern U.S. slang.
O.E. pinian "torture, torment, afflict, cause to suffer," from *pine "pain, torture, punishment," possibly ult. from L. poena "punishment, penalty," from Gk. poine (see penal). A Latin word that rode into Germanic (cf. M.Du. pinen, O.H.G. pinon, O.N. pina) with Christianity. Intransitive sense of "to languish, waste away" is first recorded c.1440.