Travail Meaning
/tɹəˈveɪl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Definition
nounArduous or painful exertion; excessive labor, suffering, hardship.
nounSpecifically, the labor of childbirth.
Sentence Examples
Word Origin & History
Possible appearance of a tripalium Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tréyes Proto-Indo-European *tri- Proto-Italic *tri- Latin tri- Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-der. Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-slos Proto-Italic *pākslos Latin pālus Latin -is Latin tripālis Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Byzantine Greek τριπάσσαλον (tripássalon)calq.? Vulgar Latin tripālium Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Vulgar Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *tripāliāre Old French travaillerdeverb. Old French travailbor. Middle English travail English travail Inherited from Middle English travail, borrowed from Old French travail (“suffering, torment”), deverbal from travailler, from Vulgar Latin *tripāliāre (“to torment”), from tripālium (“torture device”) + -āre (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of travel and travois.