Forms: 4–7 toyle, toile, (7 toiel), 7–8 toyl, 6– toil; see also the Sc. form TUILYIE. [a. AF. toil, toyl dispute, contention, forensic strife = OF. tooil, toeil, toel, touil, tueil bloody mêlée, trouble, confusion, etc. (12th c. in Godef.), f. tooillier, etc.: see TOIL v.1]
1. † Verbal contention, dispute, controversy, argument (obs.); also, battle, strife, mêlée, turmoil (arch. or merged in 2).
(Quot. a. 1450 may possibly belong to TOIL sb.2 3, but its date is in favor of this sense.)
[1292. Britton, I. xxvii. § 6. Si soit le toyl entre eux et le viscounte. Ibid., II. xi. 21.
c. 1325. Gloss. W. de Bibbesw., in Wright, Voc., 147. Entre pledoures sourd le toyl [gloss strif].]
13[?]. K. Alis., 2212 (Bodl. MS.). Gret & dedly was þe prees, Among þe toyle Hardapilon On of Alisaunders fon Seiȝ theoloman Alisaunders stiwarde Bryngen darryes folk dounwarde.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 1802. The bolde … Tittez tirauntez doune, and temez theire sadilles, And turnez owte of þe toile, whene hym tyme thynkkez.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 6958. Toax þat tyme þurght the toile rode:… And myche wo with his weppon wroght at þe tyme.
[c. 1425–: see TUILYIE.]
a. 1450. Bone Flor., 1938. He was so tuggelde in a toyle.
1715. Pope, Iliad, I. 351. With these of old to toils of battle bred, In early youth my hardy days I led.
1746. Francis, trans. Horace, Epist., II. ii. 141. Like Gladiators, who with bloodless Toils Prolong the Combat, and engage with Foils.
1825. Longf., Burial of Minnisink, v. The weapons, made For the hard toils of war.
fig. 1642. Rogers, Naaman, 136. Hence it is, that selfe hath so continuall a toile to hold correspondence with grace.
2. With a and pl. A struggle, a ‘fight’ (with difficulties); hence, a spell of severe bodily or mental labor; a laborious task or operation.
1576. Gascoigne, Steele Gl. (Arb.), 74. Since al their toyles, and all their broken sleeps Shal scant suffize, to hold it stil vpright.
1589. Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, III. xix. (Arb.), 215. To till it is a toyle.
1603. Breton, Dial. Pithe & Pleas. (Grosart) 7/1. I doo not loue so to make a toyle of a pleasure.
1735. Somerville, Chase, IV. 241. The Hunter-Horse, Once kind Associate of his sylvan Toils.
1832. Ht. Martineau, Life in Wilds, ix. 115. The toils of the day were done.
1855. Kingsley, Heroes, II. iv. (1869), 127. Many a toil must we bear ere we find it, and bring it home to Greece.
3. Without a or pl. Severe labor; hard and continuous work or exertion that taxes the bodily or mental powers.
1594. W. Har[bert], Epicedium, 1. You that to shew your wits, have taken toyle.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., I. 24. Thou Founder of the Plough and Ploughman’s Toyl.
1750. Gray, Elegy, 29. Let not Ambition mock their useful toil.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1776), VIII. 81. The toil of man is irksome to him, and he earns his subsistance with pain.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., I. xxvii. 215. On the steeper slopes especially the toil was great.
1884. A. M. Fairbairn, in Congregationalist, April, 276. You are many of you accustomed to toil manual; I a man accustomed to toil mental.
b. transf. The result of toil; that which is produced or accomplished by toil.
1713. Addison, Cato, IV. iv. 103. How is the toil of fate, the work of ages, The Roman Empire fallen!
4. attrib. and Comb., as toil-assuaging, -beaten, -bent, -hardened, -oppressed, -stained, -stricken, -won adjs.; toil-drop, a drop of sweat caused by toil. See also TOIL-WORN.
1726. Pope, Odyss., XX. 452. This poor, tim’rous, toil-detesting drone.
1730–46. Thomson, Autumn, 1223. The toil-strung youth, By the quick sense of musick taught alone. Ibid. (1748), Cast. Indol., II. xxiii. The best and sweetest far, are toil-created gains.
1760. Fawkes, trans. Sappho, Epigr., i. 2. The toil-experienc’d Fisher, Pelagon.
1781. Cowper, Conversat., 732. The scenes of toil-renewing light.
1786. Burns, Lament, viii. My toil-beat nerves, and tear-worn eye.
1791. Cowper, Odyss., VII. 410. Ulysses toil-inured his words Exulting heard.
1805. Scott, Last Minstrel, II. xviii. Till the toil-drops fell from his brows, like rain.
1839. Carlyle, Chartism, x. 176. The toilwon conquest of his own brothers.
1847. Mary Howitt, Ballads, etc. 316. Toil-stricken, though so young.
1862. Delaware (OH) Gaz., 18 July, 1/1. At night, gentle night, is the time that woos the toil exhausted frame to steep its cares in calm forgetfulness.
1892. P. Thompson, Labor Reform Songster, 26.
| How have the arrogant robbers rewarded you? | |
| What can ye show for your toil-broken lives? | |
| Basely the men ye enrich have defrauded you, | |
| Crushing the hearts of your children and wives. |
1907. G. Parker, Weavers, ix. The slave and the toil-ridden fellah.
