trav ‧ ail /ˈtræveɪl/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable] written
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: travaillier 'to torture, work very hard' , from Vulgar Latin tripaliare 'to torture' , from tripalium 'instrument of torture' , from Latin tri- 'three' + palus 'sharp stick' ]
( also travails [plural] ) a difficult or unpleasant situation, or very tiring work
travail of
the travails of last year’s water shortage