I. fəˈtēg, chiefly dial -tig noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, from Middle French, from fatiguer, v.
1.
a. : weariness from labor or exertion : exhaustion of strength ; also : tiredness or physical or nervous exhaustion from causes other than physical or intellectual exertion (as from anoxia, motion sickness, or emotional tension)
b. : loss of power resulting from continued work but removable by rest
c. : exhaustion in productive power (as of soil)
d. : the transitory refractory state induced in a sensory receptor or motor end organ by continued or repeated stimulation — compare adaptation
2.
a. : a tiring duty : labor , toil
b.
(1) : manual or menial work often assigned as a punishment ; especially : such work (as the cleaning up of a camp area or the building of a road) performed in the course of service by a member of one of the military services other than the navy
(2) : one such task
punishments include loss of rewards or privileges, temporary loss of recreation (usually associated with a fatigue such as floor scrubbing or potato peeling) — Lancet
c. fatigues plural : the uniform or work clothing worn on fatigue and in the field
3.
a. : the tendency of a material (as a metal) to break under repeated cyclic loading at a stress considerably less than the tensile strength in a static test
b. : the decrease of efficiency (as of a luminescent or light-sensitive material) with use
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: French fatiguer, from Middle French, from Latin fatigare; akin to Latin af fatim sufficiently, fatisci to fall apart, become exhausted, and probably to Latin fames hunger — more at daze
transitive verb
1. : to weary with labor or exertion : tire
2. : to induce a condition of fatigue in (as a material or an effector organ)
intransitive verb
1. : to undergo or suffer fatigue (as of a metal)
2. : to perform fatigue (as in the army)
Synonyms: see tire
III. adjective
Etymology: fatigue (I)
: consisting of, done, or used in fatigue
fatigue detail
a fatigue uniform
: belonging to fatigues
a fatigue cap
grabbed his fatigue collar and pulled him out of line