toil Hear it!

toil1 definition

toil (to̵il)

intransitive verb

  1. to work hard and continuously; labor
  2. to proceed laboriously; advance or move with painful effort or difficulty to toil up a mountain

Etymology: ME toilen < Anglo-Fr toiler, to strive, dispute < OFr toeillier, to pull about, begrime < L tudiculare, to stir about < tudicula, small machine for bruising olives < tudes, mallet < base of tundere, to beat < IE base *(s)teu- > stock, stub

transitive verb

Now Rare to make or accomplish with great effort

noun

  1. Archaic contention; struggle; strife
  2. hard, exhausting work or effort; tiring labor
  3. a task performed by such effort

Etymology: ME toile < Anglo-Fr toil < OFr toeil, turmoil, struggle < the v.

Related Forms:

toil2 definition

toil (to̵il)

noun

  1. Archaic a net for trapping
  2. any snare suggestive of a net

Etymology: OFr toile, a net, web, cloth < L tela, web, woven material < base of texere: see text

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.