English Explanatory Dictionary

ail

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)
  2. To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.
noun
  1. An ailment; trouble; illness.
adj
  1. Painful; troublesome.
noun
  1. The awn of barley or other types of corn.

Pronunciation

/eɪl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ail.wav

Word forms

ail ails ailing ailed ailer more ail ailest most ail ile

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *aglijan, from Proto-Germanic *aglijaną (“to trouble, vex”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”).

Derived words

ailsome
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on A Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary