travail
noun /ˈtræveɪl/, /trəˈveɪl/
/ˈtræveɪl/, /trəˈveɪl/
[uncountable, plural] (old use or literary)- an unpleasant experience or situation that involves a lot of hard work, difficulties and/or pain
- the travails of life in post-war Britain
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from medieval Latin trepalium ‘instrument of torture’, from Latin tres ‘three’ + palus ‘stake’.