ail

[eyl]

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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.

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

Can be confusedale ail awl

Synonyms for ail

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ail ON THESAURUS.COM

1. bother, annoy, distress.

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

Related Words for ail

bother, afflict, annoy, pain, distress, upset, sicken, trouble

Examples from the Web for ail

Historical Examples of ail

Somethin' seemed to ail him and he couldn't make out what 'twas.
Thankful's Inheritance
Joseph C. Lincoln
Weel, maybe I was thinkin' hoo I wad leuk at her gin onything did ail her.
David Elginbrod
George MacDonald
Seek your sa' where you got your ail, and beg your barm where you buy your ale.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop
O, what can ail thee, knight at arms, Alone and palely loitering?
Mitch Miller
Edgar Lee Masters
O, what can ail thee, knight at arms, So haggard and so woe-begone?
Mitch Miller
Edgar Lee Masters

British Dictionary definitions for ail

ail

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

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]