toil

See also: TOIL

English

Alternative forms

• toyle (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English toilen, toylen, apparently a conflation of Anglo-Norman toiller (“to agitate, stir up, entangle”) (compare Old Northern French tooillier, tooullier (“to agitate, stir”); of unknown origin), and Middle English tilyen, telien, teolien, tolen, tolien, tulien (“to till, work, labour”), from Old English tilian, telian, teolian, tiolian (“to exert oneself, toil, work, make, generate, strive after, try, endeavor, procure, obtain, gain, provide, tend, cherish, cultivate, till, plough, trade, traffic, aim at, aspire to, treat, cure”) (compare Middle Dutch tuylen, teulen (“to till, work, labour”)), from Proto-Germanic *tilōną (“to strive, reach for, aim for, hurry”). Cognate with Scots tulyie (“to quarrel, flite, contend”).

An alternate etymology derives Middle English toilen, toylen directly from Middle Dutch tuylen, teulen (“to work, labour, till”), from tuyl ("agriculture, labour, toil"; > Modern Dutch tuil (“toil; work”)). Cognate with Old Frisian teula (“to labour, toil”), teule (“labour, work”), Dutch tuil (“toil, labour”). Compare also Dutch telen (“to grow; raise; cultivate, till”). More at till.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔɪl/, /ˈtɔɪəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪl, -ɔɪəl

Noun

toil (countable and uncountable, plural toils)

1. Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.

   Synonyms: derve, drudgery, swink, sweat; see also Thesaurus:drudgery

   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows:

     […] he set to work again and made the snow fly in all directions around him. After some further toil his efforts were rewarded, and a very shabby door-mat lay exposed to view.

2. Trouble, strife.
3. (usually in the plural) A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey.
   • 1697, Virgil, translated by John Dryden, Georgics:

     Then toils for beasts, and lime for birds, were found.

   • 1823, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein:

     I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the wood with a stag-like swiftness.

   • 1893, Stanley J. Weyman, “XIX. Men call it chance”, in A Gentleman of France:

     That I was going to sit still, and let you sulk, while mademoiselle walked blindfold into the toils?

   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

     She had waited overlong, and now it was like that Ailie would escape her toils.

Derived terms

• toiler
• toilsome

Translations

labor, work

• Arabic: كَدْح m (kadḥ)

  Egyptian Arabic: شقى m (šaʔa)

• Asturian: traxín m
• Azerbaijani: əmək (az), əziyyət (az), zəhmət
• Bulgarian: тежка работа (težka rabota), трепане (trepane)
• Catalan: treball (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 辛勞／辛劳 (zh) (xīnláo)

• Czech: dřina (cs) f, lopota (cs) f
• Dutch: gezwoeg (nl) n
• Finnish: ahkerointi (fi), uurastus (fi)
• German: Mühe (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 f (arbaiþs)
• Greek: κόπος (el) m (kópos), μόχθος (el) m (móchthos)

  Ancient: κόπος m (kópos), πόνος m (pónos)

• Hebrew: עָמָל (he) m ('amál)
• Irish: sclábhaíocht f
• Istriot: fadeîga f
• Italian: lavoro (it) m, fatica (it) f
• Latin: labor (la) m
• Maori: whakarīrā
• Polish: trud (pl) m
• Portuguese: labuta (pt) f
• Russian: труд (ru) m (trud), рабо́та (ru) f (rabóta)
• Serbo-Croatian: rabota (sh) f
• Swedish: slit (sv) n, stret n
• Venetan: fadiga f

trouble, strife

• Bulgarian: мъка (bg) f (mǎka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: soužení n, trápení (cs) n
• Finnish: vastukset (fi) pl, vaiva (fi)
• Hebrew: עָמָל (he) m ('amál)
• Italian: disputa (it) f, tenzone f, litigio (it) m, baruffa (it), diverbio (it) m
• Russian: беда́ (ru) f (bedá), го́ре (ru) n (góre)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} travalio
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} esfuerzo (es) m

Verb

toil (third-person singular simple present toils, present participle toiling, simple past and past participle toiled)

1. (intransitive) To labour; work.
2. (intransitive) To struggle.
3. (transitive) To work (something); often with out.
   • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:

     places well toiled and husbanded

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     [I] toiled out my uncouth passage.

4. (transitive) To weary through excessive labour.
   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     toiled with works of war

Derived terms

• toil and moil

Translations

to labour, to work

• Afrikaans: bakstaan
• Arabic: تَعِبَ (taʕiba), كَدَحَ (kadaḥa), كَدَ (kada)

  Egyptian Arabic: شقي (šeʔi)

• Bulgarian: трудя се (trudja se), трепя се (trepja se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 辛勞／辛劳 (zh) (xīnláo)

• Czech: dřít (cs)
• Dutch: werken (nl), zwoegen (nl), labeuren (nl),
• Finnish: raataa (fi), rehkiä (fi)
• French: travailler (fr)
• German: schuften (de), sich plagen (de), sich quälen (de), roboten (de) (archaic)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (arbaidjan)
• Greek: κοπιάζω (el) (kopiázo)

  Ancient: πονέω (ponéō), μοχθέω (mokhthéō), κοπιάω (kopiáō), μογέω (mogéō)

• Ido: laboregar (io)
• Italian: faticare (it), lavorare (it)
• Maori: whakarīrā
• Russian: труди́ться (ru) impf (trudítʹsja), вка́лывать (ru) impf (vkályvatʹ) (colloquial)
• Spanish: labrar (es), trabajar (es), yugar (River Plate), yuguear (Argentina), ajetrearse (es), afanarse (es), afanar (es), apencar (es), azacanear (es), azacanarse (es), pencar, chapar (es)
• Swedish: slita (sv), streta (sv), knoga (sv)
• Telugu: కష్టపడు (te) (kaṣṭapaḍu), కష్టించు (kaṣṭiñcu)
• Turkish: didinmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: труди́тися impf (trudýtysja)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “toil”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• -itol, ilot, loti

Basque

Noun

toil

1. conger eel

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish tol (“will, desire”).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠɞlʲ/
• (Cois Fharraige) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠɪlʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠɔlʲ/

Noun

toil f (genitive singular tola)

1. will

Declension

Declension of toil

Third declension

Bare forms (no plural for this noun): Case Singular Nominative toil Vocative a thoil Genitive tola Dative toil

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Nominative an toil Genitive na tola Dative leis an toil don toil

Derived terms

• le do thoil
• más é do thoil é
• saorthoil
• toilteanach

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
toil	thoil	dtoil
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “toil”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 740
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “toil”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tolʲ/

Noun

toil

1. inflection of tol:
   1. accusative/dative singular
   2. nominative/vocative/accusative dual

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
toil	thoil	toil pronounced with /d(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Scottish Gaelic

FWOTD – 5 February 2021

Etymology

From Old Irish tol (“will, desire”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t̪ʰɔl/

Noun

toil f (genitive singular toile, plural toilean)

1. will, desire, volition, inclination
2. delight, pleasure

Derived terms

• is toil le (“like (verb)”)
• mas e do thoil e (“please”)

Derived terms

• mì-thoil (“reluctance”)
• saor-thoil (“free will”)
• toileach (“willing”)

References

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “toil”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “tol”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language