travail

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., -vailed, -vail·ing, -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.]

(truh-VAYL)
noun

Painfully difficult work; agony, anguish; the pain of childbirth.
verb intr.
To work strenuously, toil; be in labor.

[From Old French travailler (to work hard), from Vulgar Latin tripaliare, (to torture with a tripalium). A tripalium was a three-staked instrument of torture.]

Travel also derives from travailler, with reference to the hardships of a journey. The first recorded use of travel (as travelen) was in the 14th century, when anyone venturing on a journey could expect to face many hardships, even if not encountering a three-staked torture device.
Travail and travel derive from Indo-European root *trei-, meaning three. Less obvious words in this family include trammel, sitar, trivia, trivial, troika, trivet, testify, testimony, testament, attest, contest, detest, and protest. These last seven words derive from Latin testis, with reference to a (third party) witness, also the source of the word for the testicles that bear witness to male virility. One more word in the *trei- family is triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number thirteen.

Usage:

"Mustapha and Ishaya Bamaiyi may never have liked each other's guts but their travails have many parallels. Both are products of the Abacha years and are both counting on good luck and a lot of legal antics to save their necks." — Goodluck Ebelo and Seyi Oduyela; A Rescue Effort Hits the Top Gear Reports; Tempo (Lagos, Nigeria); Jan 13, 1999.

"One keeps turning pages, savoring pithy moments like this, long after wearying of the mouthpiece characters and their trumped-up travails." — Scott Prater; Trumped-up Travails; The Atlantic Monthly (Boston); Apr 2003.

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noun

1. Physical exertion that is usually difficult and exhausting: drudgery, labor, moil, toil, work. Informal sweat. Chiefly British fag. Idioms: sweat of one's brow. See work/play.
2. The act or process of bringing forth young: accouchement, birth, birthing, childbearing, childbirth, delivery, labor, lying-in, parturition. See start/end.

verb

To exert one's mental or physical powers, usually under difficulty and to the point of exhaustion: drive, fag, labor, moil, strain¹, strive, sweat, toil, tug, work. Idioms: break one'sbackneck. See work/play.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of labor to the birth of a child
  Synonyms: parturiency, labor, labour, confinement, lying-in, childbed

Meaning #2: use of physical or mental energy; hard work
  Synonyms: effort, elbow grease, exertion, sweat

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The verb travail has one meaning:

Meaning #1: work hard
  Synonyms: labor, labour, toil, fag, grind, drudge, dig, moil

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - slid og slæb, fødselsveer
v. intr. - slide og slæbe, ligge i fødselsveer

Nederlands (Dutch)
(zware) arbeid (verrichten), (in) barensnood (verkeren)

Français (French)
n. - labeur (arch), douleurs de l'enfantement
v. intr. - travailler dur, peiner, être en couches

Deutsch (German)
n. - schwere Arbeit, Pein, Geburtswehen
v. - schwer arbeiten, in den Geburtswehen liegen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μόχθος, ωδίνες τοκετού
v. - κοιλοπονώ, (μτφ.) μοχθώ, πασχίζω

Italiano (Italian)
travaglio, affaticarsi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - trabalho de parto (m), dores de parto (m pl)
v. - entrar em trabalho de parto, trabalhar arduamente

Русский (Russian)
родовые муки, острая боль, тяжелая работа, мучиться в родах, тяжело работать

Español (Spanish)
n. - dolores de parto, trabajo duro, tormento
v. intr. - estar de parto, afanarse, trabajar mucho, sufrir, padecer

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - slit och släp, möda, lidande, födslovånda
v. - slita och släpa, vara i barnsnöd

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
分娩的痛苦, 辛劳, 阵痛, 发生阵痛

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 分娩的痛苦, 辛勞, 陣痛
v. intr. - 發生陣痛, 辛勞

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 산고, 진통, 노고
v. intr. - 진통하다, 수고하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 産気づいている, 営々と仕事に励む
n. - 陣痛, 苦しみ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عذاب, مهمه, عمل (فعل) يعمل, يكدح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מאמץ מכאיב, צירי-לידה‬
v. intr. - ‮סבל(ה) יסורים, בעיקר בלידה‬

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travail