ail

See also -ail

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /eɪl/
• Rhymes: -eɪl

Etymology 1

From Middle English eyle, eile, from Old English eġle (“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”), from Proto-Germanic *agluz (“cumbersome, tedious, burdensome, tiresome”), from Proto-Indo-European *agʰlo-, *agʰ- (“offensive, disgusting, repulsive, hateful”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus, “hard, difficult”).

Adjective

ail (comparative ailer or more ail, superlative ailest or most ail)

1. (obsolete) Painful; troublesome.

Etymology 2

From Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”).

Verb

ail (third-person singular simple present ails, present participle ailing, simple past and past participle ailed)

1. (transitive) To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)

   Have some chicken soup. It's good for what ails you.

   • 2011, "Connubial bliss in America", The Economist:

     Not content with having in 1996 put a Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the statue book, Congress has now begun to hold hearings on a Respect for Marriage Act. Defended, respected: what could possibly ail marriage in America?

2. (intransitive) To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.
   • Richardson

     When he ails ever so little […] he is so peevish.

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.

Translations

to cause to suffer

• Bulgarian: боли (bg) (boli), безпокои (bg) (bezpokoi)
• Dutch: schelen (nl), mankeren (nl)
• Finnish: vaivata (fi)

• French: manquer (fr), faillir (fr)
• Russian: тревожить (ru) (trevožitʹ), беспокоить (ru) (bespokoitʹ)
• Spanish: causar dolor a, molestar (es)

to be ill

• Bulgarian: болен съм (bg) (bolen sǎm), неразположен съм (bg) (nerazpoložen sǎm)
• Dutch: ziek zijn, iets mankeren, sukkelen (nl)
• Finnish: sairastaa (fi)
• French: être malade (fr), souffrir (fr)

• German: kränklich sein (de)
• Latvian: sirgt (lv)
• Russian: болеть (ru) (boletʹ), недомогать (ru) (nedomogatʹ)
• Spanish: adolecer (es)

Noun

ail (plural ails)

1. An ailment; trouble; illness.

Translations

An ailment; trouble; illness

• Bulgarian: болка (bg) (bolka), болест (bg) (bolest)
• Finnish: vaiva (fi)

• Latvian: liga (lv) f
• Spanish: enfermedad (es) f

Etymology 3

From Old English eġl.

Noun

ail (plural ails)

1. The awn of barley or other types of corn.

Anagrams

• Ali
• lai, Lai

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Dalmatian

Alternative forms

• alj

Etymology

From Latin allium.

Noun

ail

1. garlic

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French

Etymology

From Latin allium.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /aj/ X-SAMPA: /aj/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

• Homophones: aille, ailles, aillent

Noun

ail m (plural ails or aulx)

1. garlic

Derived terms

• alliacé
• ailler

Anagrams

• lai, lia

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Jèrriais

Etymology

From Latin allium.

Noun

ail m (usually uncountable)

1. garlic

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Old Irish

Verb

·ail

1. third-person singular present indicative conjunct of ailid

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Welsh

Adjective

ail

1. second