tribulation

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   great trouble, suffering, or distress

   The community supported one another through years of war and tribulation.

2. 2
   noun

   a difficult experience or event that causes distress, especially as one of a series

   Despite the journey's many trials and tribulations, the expedition reached home safely.

From Middle English tribulation, Old French tribulacion, and Late Latin tribulatio, 'distress,' from tribulare, 'to press or oppress.' The verb was associated with Latin tribulum, a toothed threshing sledge, giving the figurative image of hardship that crushes or grinds.

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