Drudgeries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Tasks that are physically or mentally demanding and often monotonous or tiresome in nature
2. Repetitive and laborious activities that require a significant amount of effort and are usually seen as unexciting
3. Duties and jobs that are burdensome or tedious, commonly lacking in satisfaction or enjoyment

Etymology: "Drudgeries" is the plural of "drudgery," which the Oxford English Dictionary dates to 1897 in its record of the word's use. The noun is built from "drudge," a word for someone doing low, servile work, plus the suffix "-ery," which forms nouns meaning the practice, craft, or condition associated with something. So drudgery is the state of being a drudge, and its plural names the individual tasks that make up that state. The base word "drudge" appears in Middle English as "drugge," and its earlier history is less certain than the plain sense it carried: a worker bent to hard, unrewarding labour. The suffix did the work of turning that person into a condition. English already had many nouns of this shape, such as "bravery" and "slavery," where the suffix names a practice or state rather than a person.

Synonyms: toil, labor, work, grind

Antonyms: leisure, ease, relaxation