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n. 1. Work, especially when arduous or involving painful effort; toil. See Synonyms at work. 2. Tribulation or agony; anguish. 3. The labor of childbirth. intr.v. tra·vailed, tra·vail·ing, tra·vails 1. To work strenuously; toil. 2. To be in the labor of childbirth. [Middle English, from Old French, from travailler, to work hard, from Vulgar Latin *tripāliāre, to torture with a tripalium, from Late Latin tripālium, instrument of torture, probably from Latin tripālis, having three stakes : tri-, tri- + pālus, stake; see pag- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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