Etymograph

English

travail

Travail comes from Old French travail ‘suffering, torment’, from Latin tripālium ‘torture device’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- ‘to attach, fix, fasten’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-1‘to attach, fix, fasten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-slos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pākslos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpālus1‘stake’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtripālis2‘composed of three stakes’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtripālium3‘torture device’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tripāliāre3‘to torment’reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400travaillerdeverb.3
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400travail3‘suffering, torment’
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500travail3
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1582 – 1610travail3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin tripalis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin tripalium
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English travail
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1582 – 1610, Douay Rheims Bible: “Great trauail is created to al men, and an…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-Wiktionary, Latin tripalis‘to attach, fix, fasten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-slosWiktionary, Latin tripalisreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pākslosWiktionary, Latin tripalisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpālusWiktionary, Latin tripalis‘stake’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtripālisWiktionary, Latin tripalium‘composed of three stakes’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtripāliumWiktionary, English travail‘torture device’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tripāliāreWiktionary, English travail‘to torment’reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400travaillerdeverb.Wiktionary, English travail
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400travailWiktionary, English travail‘suffering, torment’
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500travailWiktionary, English travail
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1582 – 1610travailWiktionary, English travail. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1582 – 1610, Douay Rheims Bible: “Great trauail is created to al men, and an…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- ‘to attach, fix, fasten’

page, propaganda, compact, peasant, pagan, propagate, pala, pectin, impinge, pagination, impactor, 29 more

through Latin pālus ‘stake’

pole, pale, peel, palisade, 22 more

through Middle English travail

travel

Another origin of travail

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-‘to attach, fix, fasten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-slosreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pākslosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpālus‘stake’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtripālis‘composed of three stakes’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtripālium‘torture device’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tripāliāre‘to torment’reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400travailler‘to torment oneself’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500travailen
  10. Englishtodaytravail

Today it means

noun Arduous or painful exertion; excessive labor, suffering, hardship.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “travail”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin tripalis, Latin tripalium. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- / travail

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