travail

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child
  2. noun use of physical or mental energy; hard work
  3. verb work hard

Etymology

Possible appearance of a tripalium Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tréyes Proto-Italic *trēs Latin trēsder. 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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

parturiency, labor, labour, confinement, lying-in, childbed

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