Etymologists are pretty certain that travail comes from trepalium, the Late Latin name of an instrument of torture. We don't know exactly what a trepalium looked like, but the word's history gives us an idea. Trepalium is derived from the Latin tripalis, which means "having three stakes" (from tri-, meaning "three," and palus, meaning "stake"). From trepalium sprang the Anglo-French verb travailler, which originally meant "to torment" but eventually acquired the milder senses "to trouble" and "to journey." The Anglo-French noun travail was borrowed into English in the 13th century, along with another descendant of travailler, travel.
Noun
They finally succeeded after many months of travail.
no greater travail than that of parents who have suffered the death of a child Verb
Labor Day is the day on which we recognize those men and women who daily travail with little appreciation or compensation.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The duo's travails are just two of the myriad stories, with 170 speaking parts, in the often brutal tale of post-Civil War westward expansion.—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 27 June 2024 Meanwhile, the global travails of democracy would worsen, particularly where fragile democracies coped with pressure exerted by powerful autocracies nearby.—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 27 May 2024
Verb
Clap back:DeSantis criticizes 'daily drama' of Trump's leadership style, ratcheting up growing tensions Trump travails:Is Donald Trump being arrested?—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2023 See all Example Sentences for travail
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'travail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from travailler to torment, labor, journey, from Vulgar Latin *trepaliare to torture, from Late Latin trepalium instrument of torture, from Latin tripalis having three stakes, from tri- + palus stake — more at pole
Middle English travail "hard labor," from early French travail (same meaning), from travailler (verb) "to torment, labor" — related to travel see Word History at travel
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