travail

== English == === Alternative forms === travel, travell (obsolete) === Pronunciation === enPR: trə-vālʹ, trăvʹāl', IPA(key): /tɹəˈveɪl/, /ˈtɹævˌeɪl/ Hyphenation: tra‧vail Rhymes: -eɪl === Etymology 1 === From Middle English travail, from Old French travail (“suffering, torment”), deverbal of travailler, from Vulgar Latin *tripāliāre, from Late Latin tripālium, from Latin tripālis (“held up by three stakes”) from Proto-Italic *trēs + *pākslos from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-. Doublet of travel and travois. ==== Noun ==== travail (plural travails or travaux) (literary) Arduous or painful exertion; excessive labor, suffering, hardship. [from 13th c.] Synonyms: toil, tribulation, ordeal Antonyms: ease, leisure Specifically, the labor of childbirth. [from 13th c.] (obsolete, countable) An act of working; labor (US), labour (British). [14th–18th c.] (obsolete) The eclipse of a celestial object. [17th c.] Obsolete form of travel. Alternative form of travois (“a kind of sled”) ===== Related terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ===== References ===== John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “travail”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “travail”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. === Etymology 2 === From Middle English travailen, from Old French travaillier, from the noun (see above). Doublet of travel. Displaced native Middle English swinken (“to work”) (from Old English swincan (“to labour, to toil, to work at”)). ==== Verb ==== travail (third-person singular simple present travails, present participle travailing, simple past and past participle travailed) To toil. To go through the labor of childbirth. ===== Translations ===== === Further reading === Tripalium on Wikipedia.Wikipedia == French == === Etymology === Inherited from Middle French travail (“suffering, pain”), from Old French travail (“suffering, pain”), deverbal of travailler, from Vulgar Latin *tripāliāre, from Late Latin tripālium (“torture device made of three stakes”). The plural derives from Old French travauz, early travailz, with vocalization of the lateral before a consonant (/tʁavo/ < /tɾaˈvau̯s/ < /tɾaˈvaʎts/). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /tʁa.vaj/ Rhymes: -aj Homophones: travaille, travaillent, travailles === Noun === travail m (plural travaux or travails) work; labor un travail bien fait ― work done well, a job well done On se met au travail. ― Let's get to work. Remettez-vous au travail. ― Do get to work. Il se plonge dans le travail. ― He dives into work. Pour la majorité des femmes, le travail commence par des contractions utérine. ― For most women, labor begins with uterine contractions. job workplace ==== Usage notes ==== The less common plural travails is usually only used for the sense of "job." ==== Synonyms ==== boulot, taf, turbin, job ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “travail”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Middle French == === Etymology === From Old French travail. === Noun === travail m (plural travails) suffering; pain ==== Descendants ==== French: travail === References === Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (travail, supplement) == Old French == === Etymology === Deverbal from travailler. === Noun === travail oblique singular, m (oblique plural travauz or travailz, nominative singular travauz or travailz, nominative plural travail) suffering, torment ==== Descendants ==== Middle French: travailFrench: travail Norman: travas → Middle English: travail English: travail