Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: eglan

ail

 verb
     
ail
1

what ails something

formal the thing or things that are causing difficulties for something:
This initiative is not the answer to what ails our educational system.
2 [intransitive and transitive] old-fashioned to be ill, or to make someone feel ill or unhappy
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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