Travail

/trəˈvāl/

Meaning & Definition

noun

Strenuous or painful effort; toil.

The farmers spent hours in travail, plowing the fields under the scorching sun.

The labor of childbirth.

After hours of travail, she finally gave birth to a healthy baby.

verb

To work extremely hard or to toil.

He had to travail through the night to complete the project on time.

To suffer from pain or anguish.

She could see him travailing with grief after his loss.

From Old French 'travaillier', meaning 'to toil, work'.

travail of love

Work done for the sake of love rather than for reward.

in travail

In the process of giving birth; in labor.

travailler

To work (French).

travailleur

Worker (French).

To struggle hard with something.

I've been travailing over this project for weeks.

To work oneself to exhaustion.

After travailing all day, I just want to crash.