Travail means very hard, painful, exhausting work, or a period of difficulty and suffering. It is a formal, old-fashioned, literary word — you meet it in books, speeches, and serious journalism, almost never in conversation.

Travailtravail means very hard, painful, exhausting work意思是非常辛苦、痛苦、累人的工作，or a period of difficulty and suffering或是一段困苦、受苦的時期。It is它是a formal, old-fashioned, literary word正式、老派、文學性的字——you meet it in books, speeches, and serious journalism你會在書、演講和嚴肅的新聞寫作裡遇到它，almost never in conversation幾乎不會出現在對話裡。

It is often plural: 'the travails of the early settlers', 'his political travails'. In the plural it leans towards troubles and struggles; in the singular it leans towards gruelling toil.

It is often plural它常常用複數：'the travails of the early settlers'「早期拓荒者所受的種種艱辛」、'his political travails'「他政治上的種種磨難」。In the plural用複數時it leans towards troubles and struggles偏向指困境和掙扎；in the singular用單數時it leans towards gruelling toil則偏向指極其辛苦的勞動。

It has one more sense worth knowing because you will meet it in older books: travail can mean the pains of childbirth, 'a woman in travail'. That is archaic now, but it explains the flavour of the word — suffering you must go through, not just work you must do.

It has one more sense worth knowing還有一個值得知道的意思because you will meet it in older books因為你會在較老的書裡遇到：travailtravail can mean the pains of childbirth可以指生產的陣痛，'a woman in travail'「一個在陣痛中的女人」。That is archaic now這種用法現在已經古老，but it explains the flavour of the word不過它說明了這個字的味道：suffering you must go through是你必須經歷的苦，not just work you must do而不只是必須做的工作。

Here is the story students love. The Latin ancestor, tripalium, was a three-staked instrument of torture. From torture the word drifted to torment, then to hard labour, then to a journey — because journeys used to be dreadful.

Here is the story students love這是個學生都喜歡的故事。The Latin ancestor這個字的拉丁文祖先，tripaliumtripalium，was a three-staked instrument of torture是一種三支木樁做成的酷刑刑具。From torture從酷刑開始the word drifted to torment這個字先漂向折磨，then to hard labour接著變成粗重的勞動，then to a journey再變成旅程——because journeys used to be dreadful因為以前的旅程非常可怕。

That last branch became our word travel. So travail and travel are twins, split apart when travelling stopped being an ordeal.

That last branch這最後一個分支became our word travel變成了我們現在的travel這個字。So所以travail and travel travail和travel are twins是一對雙胞胎，split apart when travelling stopped being an ordeal在旅行不再是一場苦難之後才分道揚鑣。