Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Sense: 1
Date: 1300-1400
Language: Anglo-French
Origin: toyl, from Old French toeil 'battle, confusion', from toeillier; TOIL1
Sense: 2
Date: 1500-1600
Origin: toil 'net' (16-19 centuries), from French toile; TOILET

toil

2 noun
     
toil2 [uncountable] formal
1 hard unpleasant work done over a long period:
a life of toil
2

the toils of something

literary if you are caught in the toils of an unpleasant feeling or situation, you are trapped by it
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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