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Webster 1913 Edition

Toil

Toil

,
Noun.
[F.
toiles
, pl., toils, nets, fr.
toile
cloth, canvas, spider web, fr. L.
tela
any woven stuff, a web, fr.
texere
to weave. See
Text
, and cf.
Toilet
.]
A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey; – usually in the plural.
As a Numidian lion, when first caught,
Endures the
toil
that holds him.
Denham.
Then
toils
for beasts, and lime for birds, were found.
Dryden.

Toil

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Toiled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Toiling
.]
[OE.
toilen
to pull about, to toil; of uncertain origin; cf. OD.
teulen
,
tuylen
, to labor, till, or OF.
tooillier
,
toailler
, to wash, rub (cf.
Towel
); or perhaps ultimately from the same root as E.
tug
.]
To exert strength with pain and fatigue of body or mind, especially of the body, with efforts of some continuance or duration; to labor; to work.

Toil

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To weary; to overlabor.
[Obs.]
“Toiled with works of war.”
Shak.
2.
To labor; to work; – often with out.
[R.]
Places well
toiled
and husbanded.
Holland.
[I]
toiled
out my uncouth passage.
Milton.

Toil

,
Noun.
[OE.
toil
turmoil, struggle; cf. OD.
tuyl
labor, work. See
Toil
,
Verb.
]
Labor with pain and fatigue; labor that oppresses the body or mind, esp. the body.
My task of servile
toil
.
Milton.
After such bloody
toil
, we bid good night.
Shakespeare
☞ Toil is used in the formation of compounds which are generally of obvious signification; as, toil-strung, toil-wasted, toil-worn, and the like.
Syn. – Labor; drudgery; work; exertion; occupation; employment; task; travail.
–
Toil
,
Labor
,
Drudgery
. Labor implies strenuous exertion, but not necessary such as overtasks the faculties; toil denotes a severity of labor which is painful and exhausting; drudgery implies mean and degrading work, or, at least, work which wearies or disgusts from its minuteness or dull uniformity.
You do not know the heavy grievances,
The
toils
, the
labors
, weary
drudgeries
,
Which they impose.
Southern.
How often have I blessed the coming day,
When
toil
remitting lent its turn to play.
Goldsmith.

Webster 1828 Edition

Toil

TOIL

,
Verb.
I.
To labor; to work; to exert strength with pain and fatigue of body or mind, particularly of the body, with efforts of some continuance or duration.
Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Luke 5.

TOIL

,
Verb.
T.
To toil out, to labor; to work out.
Toil'd out my uncouth passage--
1.
To weary; to overlabor; as toil'd with works of war.
[Not in use nor proper.]

TOIL

,
Noun.
Labor with pain and fatigue; labor that oppresses the body or mind. Toil may be the labor of the field or the workshop, or of the camp. What toils men endure for the acquisition of wealth, power and honor! Gen.5.

TOIL

,
Noun.
[L. tela, a web; from spreading, extending or laying.]
A net or snare; any thread, web or string spread for taking prey.
A fly falls into the toils of a spider.

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