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ailing

 - 5 dictionary results

ail⋅ing

  [ey-ling]
Use ailing in a Sentence
–adjective
1. sickly; unwell.
2. unsound or troubled: a financially ailing corporation.
Origin:
1590–1600; ail + -ing 2

ail

  [eyl]
–verb (used with object)
1. to cause pain, uneasiness, or trouble to.
–verb (used without object)
2. to be unwell; feel pain; be ill: He's been ailing for some time.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME ail, eilen, OE eglan to afflict (c. MLG egelen annoy, Goth -agljan), deriv. of egle painful; akin to Goth agls shameful, Skt aghám evil, pain

Synonyms:
1. bother, annoy, distress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ailing
ail   (āl)   
v.   ailed, ail·ing, ails

v.   intr.
To feel ill or have pain.
v.   tr.
To cause physical or mental pain or uneasiness to; trouble. See Synonyms at trouble.

[Middle English eilen, from Old English eglian, from egle, troublesome.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ail 
O.E. eglian "to trouble, plague, afflict," from P.Gmc. *azljaz (cf. O.E. egle "hideous, loathsome, troublesome, painful;" Goth. agls "shameful, disgraceful," agliþa "distress, affliction, hardship," us-agljan "to oppress, afflict"), from PIE *agh-lo-, suffixed form of base *agh- "to be depressed, be afraid." Ailment formed in Eng. 1706.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ail
Pronunciation: 'A(&)l
Function: transitive verb
: to affect with an unnamed disease or physical or emotional pain or discomfort—used only of unspecified causes ails the patient> ail intransitive senses
: to become affected with pain or discomfortailed throughout his childhood> ailing from a cold>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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