Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: travaillier 'to torture, work very hard', from Vulgar Latin tripaliare 'to torture', from tripalium 'instrument of torture', from Latin tri- 'three' + palus 'sharp stick'

travail

 noun
     
trav‧ail [uncountable] written
also travails [plural] a difficult or unpleasant situation, or very tiring work
travail of
the travails of last year's water shortage
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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