ail

[ eyl ]

/ eɪl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ail ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to cause pain, uneasiness, or trouble to.

verb (used without object)

to be unwell; feel pain; be ill: He's been ailing for some time.

Nearby words

Origin of ail

before 950; Middle English ail, eilen, Old English eglan to afflict (cognate with Middle Low German egelen annoy, Gothic -agljan), derivative of egle painful; akin to Gothic agls shameful, Sanskrit aghám evil, pain

SYNONYMS FOR ail

1 bother, annoy, distress.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ail ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confusedale ail awl

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ail

Life iz like a mug ov beer, froth at the top, ail in the middle, and settlings at the bottom.
The Complete Works of Josh Billings|Henry W. Shaw
Somethin' seemed to ail him and he couldn't make out what 'twas.
Thankful's Inheritance|Joseph C. Lincoln
Adjectives in ail derived from Nouns; as, from fear man, fearail manful; from caraid a friend, cairdail contr.
Elements of Gaelic Grammar|Alexander Stewart
But Cecilia, when she began to fear that something did ail him, did not find it very easy to tell Florence all the truth.
The Claverings|Anthony Trollope

I trust I may be justified in telling thee that there is not much to ail my girl.
Marion Fay|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for ail

ail

/ (eɪl) /

verb

(tr) to trouble; afflict

(intr) to feel unwell

Word Origin for ail

Old English eglan to trouble, from egle troublesome, painful, related to Gothic agls shameful

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ail

ail

c.1300, from Old English eglan "to trouble, plague, afflict," from Proto-Germanic *azljaz (cf. Old English egle "hideous, loathsome, troublesome, painful;" Gothic agls "shameful, disgraceful," agliþa "distress, affliction, hardship," us-agljan "to oppress, afflict"), from PIE *agh-lo-, suffixed form of root *agh- "to be depressed, be afraid." Related: Ailed; ailing; ails.

It is remarkable, that this word is never used but with some indefinite term, or the word no thing; as What ails him? ... Thus we never say, a fever ails him. [Johnson]

ail