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”).
Meanings
(obsolete) An ailment; trouble; illness.
Forms
Spelling
Features
Labels
Source
ails
Number=Plur
lexicographic
Translations (7)
lv liga (An ailment; trouble; illness) · bg болка (An ailment; trouble; illness) · fi vaiva (An ailment; trouble; illness) · bg болест (An ailment; trouble; illness) · de Krankheit (An ailment; trouble; illness) · de Leiden (An ailment; trouble; illness) · es enfermedad (An ailment; trouble; illness)
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”).
Meanings
(transitive) To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)
Not content with having in 1996 put a Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the statue book, Congress has now begun to hold hearings on a Respect for Marriage Act. Defended, respected: what could possibly ail marriage in America? 2011, “Connubial bliss in America”, in The Economist:
Have some chicken soup. It's good for what ails you.
What aileth thee, Hagar? 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 21:17:
(intransitive) To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.
When he ails ever so little […] he is so peevish. 1740, Samuel Richardson, Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded:
fr manquer (to cause to suffer) · bg неразположен съм (to be ill) · bg болен съм (to be ill) · nl ziek zijn (to be ill) · fr souffrir (to be ill) · lv sirgt (to be ill) · fr être malade (to be ill) · de kränkeln (to be ill) · ro a boli (to be ill) · mk боледува (to be ill) · bg безпокои (to cause to suffer) · pt afligir (to cause to suffer) · de weh tun (to cause to suffer) · eo ĉagreni (to cause to suffer) · es padecer (to be ill) · nl schelen (to cause to suffer) · es afligir (to cause to suffer) · fi sairastaa (to be ill) · ar عَذَّبَ (to cause to suffer) · es adolecer (to be ill) · fr faillir (to cause to suffer) · nl iets mankeren (to be ill) · ru боле́ть (to be ill) · ru трево́жить (to cause to suffer) · ru недомога́ть (to be ill) · de plagen (to cause to suffer) · nl mankeren (to cause to suffer) · cs trápit (to cause to suffer) · bg боли (to cause to suffer) · grc νοσέω (to be ill) · ln béle (to be ill) · pt estar doente/aflito (to be ill) · ru беспоко́ить (to cause to suffer) · fi vaivata (to cause to suffer) · got 𐍃𐌹𐌿𐌺𐌰𐌽 (to be ill) · de leiden (to be ill) · es aquejar (to cause to suffer) · de kränklich sein (to be ill) · nl sukkelen (to be ill) · it affliggere (to cause to suffer) · sk trápiť (to cause to suffer) · de krank sein (to be ill) · hu betegeskedik (to be ill)
Inherited from Middle English eyle, eile, from Old English eġle (“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus, “hard, difficult”).
Inherited from Middle English eile, eyle, eiȝle, from Old English eġl (“an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote”), from Proto-Germanic *agilō (“awn”), related to *ahaz (“ear (of grain)”). Cognate with German Achel, Egel, Ägel.
Meanings
(West-Country) The awn of barley or other types of corn.