Moils

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To work hard and with difficulty, often in a laborious manner; to engage in tasks that require great effort or endurance; to toil persistently at a demanding job or endeavor without much reward
2. To exert oneself physically or mentally in a challenging occupation; to be immersed in labor that is often tedious or unglamorous; to strive tirelessly in demanding circumstances
3. To labor intensively at a task that is often exhausting; to grapple with work that is burdensome and arduous; to struggle persistently in an effort that yields little satisfaction

Etymology: "Moils" is the third-person singular form of the verb "moil," so its story is really the story of the verb. The verb descends from Middle English "mollen," meaning "to soften by wetting," which English borrowed from Old French "moillier" with the same sense. The Old French word came from Vulgar Latin "molliare," built on the Latin "mollis," meaning "soft." The starting point was therefore something physical: softening a substance by soaking it, the way mud or dough becomes pliable. The modern sense of toiling in wet, messy work has a plausible connection to that origin. Labor that churns through mud or sludge fits the image of something being softened and worked over until it gives way, though the exact route from softening to exhausting effort is not fully documented. The word's own origin is uncertain beyond the Old French link, with proposed sources including French "meule" and a Hebrew term, but neither is well supported.

Synonyms: toils, labors, struggles

Antonyms: rests, relaxes