travail

tra·vail  (tr-vl, trvl)

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 *triplire, to torture with a tripalium, from Late Latin triplium, instrument of torture, probably from Latin triplis, having three stakes : tri-, tri- + plus, stake; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]

---

travail [ˈtræveɪl] Literary

n

1. painful or excessive labour or exertion

2. (Medicine / Gynaecology & Obstetrics) the pangs of childbirth; labour

vb

(Medicine / Gynaecology & Obstetrics) (intr) to suffer or labour painfully, esp in childbirth

[from Old French travaillier, from Vulgar Latin tripaliāre (unattested) to torture, from Late Latin trepālium instrument of torture, from Latin tripālis having three stakes, from trēs three + pālus stake]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	travail - concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child; "she was in labor for six hours" childbed, confinement, lying-in, parturiency, labour, labor uterine contraction - a rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canal effacement - shortening of the uterine cervix and thinning of its walls as it is dilated during labor birthing, giving birth, parturition, birth - the process of giving birth maternity, pregnancy, gestation - the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus premature labor, premature labour - labor beginning prior to the 37th week of gestation asynclitism, obliquity - the presentation during labor of the head of the fetus at an abnormal angle
	2.	travail - use of physical or mental energy; hard work; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion" elbow grease, exertion, effort, sweat toil, labor, labour - productive work (especially physical work done for wages); "his labor did not require a great deal of skill" struggle - strenuous effort; "the struggle to get through the crowd exhausted her" difficulty, trouble - an effort that is inconvenient; "I went to a lot of trouble"; "he won without any trouble"; "had difficulty walking"; "finished the test only with great difficulty" least effort, least resistance - the least effortful way to do something straining, strain - an intense or violent exertion exercise, exercising, physical exercise, physical exertion, workout - the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit; "the doctor recommended regular exercise"; "he did some exercising"; "the physical exertion required by his work kept him fit" pull - a sustained effort; "it was a long pull but we made it" diligence, application - a diligent effort; "it is a job requiring serious application" overkill - any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary to achieve its goal supererogation - an effort above and beyond the call of duty overexertion - excessive exertion; so much exertion that discomfort or injury results detrition, friction, rubbing - effort expended in moving one object over another with pressure
Verb	1.	travail - work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" drudge, labour, moil, toil, fag, labor, dig, grind do work, work - be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college"

---

travail

noun (Literary) toil, suffering, pain, stress, labour, grind (informal), effort, tears, strain, distress, sweat, hard work, slavery, hardship, slog, exertion, drudgery He did whatever he could to ease their travail.

Translations

travail [ˈtræveɪl] N (archaic or hum) → esfuerzo m penoso (Med) → dolores mpl del parto
to be in travail → afanarse, azacanarse(archaic) (Med) → estar de parto

travail

n

usu pl (= toils) → Mühen pl; after all the travails of Watergate → nach den schweren Belastungen durch die Watergate-Affäre

(old, liter: = exhausting labour) → Plackerei f, → Mühsal f

(old: = childbirth) → (Geburts)wehen pl

vi

(old, liter: = toil) → sich plagen (old); he travailed in the depths of despair → er litt in tiefer Verzweiflung

(old: in childbirth) → in den Wehen liegen, Wehen haben