Travail
/trəˈveɪl/noun
Hard work or painful labor; in older English, severe suffering or torment.
Did you know?The English word *travail* came through Old French from Latin *tripalium*, a three-staked instrument associated with restraint and torment, which is why the word still carries a sense of struggle and pain.
Etymological Timeline
Latin (Late Antiquity)
Latin
tripalium
“A three-staked instrument used for restraint or torture”
Old French
Old French
travaillier
“To toil, suffer, or be in pain”
Middle English
English
travailen
“To labor painfully; to suffer childbirth or hardship”
Modern English
English
travail
“Painful or laborious effort; arduous work or suffering”