travail

English

Etymology

From Old French travail (“suffering, torment”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: trəˈvāl, IPA: /tɹəˈveɪl/, X-SAMPA: /tr@"veIl/
• Rhymes: -eɪl

Noun

travail (plural travails or travaux)

1. (archaic) Arduous or painful exertion; excessive labor, suffering, hardship. [from 13th c.]
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.20:

     Travell and pleasure, most unlike in nature, are notwithstanding followed together by a kind of I wot not what natural conjunction [...].

   • 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber 2007, p. 38:

     He had thought of making a destiny for himself, through laborious and untiring travail.

2. Specifically, the labor of childbirth. [from 13th c.]
3. (obsolete, countable) An act of working; labor (US), labour (British). [14th-18th c.]
4. (obsolete) The eclipse of a celestial object. [17th c.]
5. Obsolete form of travel.

Translations

hard work

labor of childbirth

• Armenian: երկունք (hy) (erkunkʿ)

  Old Armenian: երկն (erkn)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: (1) hard labeur , (2) werkarbeid, (3) barensweeën, (4) beproeving, smart,zielskwelling

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989

Verb

travail (third-person singular simple present travails, present participle travailing, simple past and past participle travailed)

1. To toil.
2. To go through the labor of childbirth.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, John XIV:

     A woman when she traveyleth hath sorowe, be cause her houre is come: but as sone as she is delivered off her chylde she remembreth no moare her anguysshe, for ioye that a man is borne in to the worlde.

Translations

to toil

go through the labor of childbirth

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: 1. hard zwoegen, slaven, 2. in barensnood verkeren

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French

Etymology

From Old French travail, from Vulgar Latin *tripalium. Compare Occitan trabalh, Catalan treball, Portuguese trabalho, Spanish trabajo.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tʁa.vaj/ X-SAMPA: /tRa.vaj/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aj
• Homophones: travaille, travaillent, travailles

Noun

travail m (plural travaux)

1. work; labor
2. job

Synonyms

• boulot, taf, turbin, job

Derived terms

• travailler
• travailleur
• travailliste
• travail d'arabe

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Old French

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *tripalium. Compare Occitan trabalh, Catalan treball, Portuguese trabalho, Spanish trabajo.

Noun

travail m (oblique plural travaus, nominative singular travaus, nominative plural travail)

1. suffering, torment

Descendants

• French: travail