Forms: 4–7 toyle, 5–7 toile, 7 toyl (toiel), 7– toil. See also TOLY v. and Sc. TUILYIE v. [a. AF. toiler to strive, dispute, wrangle = OF. toeillier, tooillier, toillier, touellier, mod.F. touillier (12th c. in Godef.), ‘salir, souillier,’ to soil, stir up, agitate, in mod.F. dial. to mix, stir up; ‘filthily to mix or mingle,… shuffle together, to intangle, trouble, or pester by scuruie medling; also, to bedurt, begrime, besmeare, etc.’ (Cotgr., 1611); according to Hatz.-Darm.:—L. tudiculāre to stir, stir about, f. tudicula a machine for bruising olives. The development of sense was app. ‘to stir up, make a stir or agitation, struggle, wrangle.’]
I. † 1. intr. To contend in a lawsuit or an argument; to dispute, argue; also, to contend in battle; to fight, struggle. Obs.
[1292. Britton, V. x. § 11. En ceo cas quant plusours heirs toillent entour heritage [etc.].]
c. 1330. [see TOILING vbl. sb.].
[c. 1350. Nominale Gall.-Angl. (E.E.T.S.). Homme plede et toile pur glebe, M. motith and striuyth for rit of kyrke.]
c. 1380. Anticrist, in Todd, Three Treat. Wyclif (1851), 150. Crist wiþhelde no men of lawe ne pleders at þe barr for robes & fees … to toyle for worldly cause.
c. 1400. Laud Troy Bk., 6957. When Paris hadde with him thus toyled, Off his Armes he him dispoyled.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 10160. The Troiens wiþ tene toiled full hard, Wiþ a Rumour full roide & a roght hate.
† 2. trans. To pull, drag, tug about. Obs.
c. 1325. Body & Soul, 383, in Map’s Poems (Camden), 344. Hit was in a deolful pleyt, Reuthliche i-toyled to and fro.
c. 1394. [see TOILING vbl sb.].
a. 1400. Leg. Rood (1871), 143. Þe dispitous Iewes nolde not spare Til trie fruit weore tore and toyled.
c. 1440. Alphabet of Tales, 54. As Saynt Anton lay in a den in wildernes, a grete multitude of fendis come vnto hym and rafe hym, & toylid hym.
II. 3. intr. To struggle for some object or for a living; to engage in severe and continuous labor or exertion; to labor arduously. Often in the collocation toil and moil: see MOIL v. 3.
c. 1394. P. Pl. Crede, 742. Y miȝt tymen þo troiflardes to toilen wiþ þe erþe, Tylyen & trewliche lyven.
c. 1400. Langland’s P. Pl., A. XI. 183 (MS. T.). And alle kyne crafty men … toille for here foode.
1530. Palsgr., 758/2. I toyle, I stryve to gette my lyvyng, je me estriue.… I toyle, I laboure, je me trauaille.
1548. Forrest, Pleas. Poesye, 57. The Pooreman to toyle for twoe pense the Daye.
1580, etc. [see MOIL v. 3].
1611. Bible, Luke v. 5. Wee haue toyled all the night. Ibid., xii. 27. They toile not; they spinne not.
1654. Gataker, Disc. Apol., 17. For worldlie wealth, men can toil and moil all the week long.
1729. Law, Serious C., iv. (1732), 53. If he labours and toils, not to serve any reasonable ends of life.
1801. Aurora General Advertiser (Philad.), 31 July, 2/2. Hundreds of them [the British] barely exist in hopeless toil for a pittance, which would be thought an incompetent reward for a journeyman at any useful business in America.
1833. Ht. Martineau, Manch. Strike, ix. 101. Thirteen thousand workpeople—who toil for twopence halfpenny a day.
1909. R. Nicoll, in Mem. H. Bonar, 103. He toiled on till he was past eighty.
b. fig. To struggle mentally.
1788. V. Knox, Winter Even., I. i. 23. Language toils in vain for expressions.
1831. Scott, Ct. Robt., xxxi. Anna Comnena deeply toiled in spirit for the discovery of some means by which she might assert her sullied dignity.
c. intr. With adverbial extension: To move or advance toilsomely or with struggling and labor.
1781. Cowper, Truth, 457. The Soul reposing on assured relief … Forgets her labour as she toils along.
1836. W. Irving, Astoria, I. 296. Trusting to his overtaking the barges as they toiled up against the stream.
1855. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xii. III. 163. The road was deep in mire … the women and children weeping, famished, and toiling through the mud up to their knees.
Mod. Toiling up the steep.
4. trans. To bring into some condition or position, or to procure, by toil; toil out, to accomplish or effect by toil. Also with cognate obj. rare.
1667. Milton, P. L., X. 475. I Toild out my uncouth passage.
1796. Coleridge, Introd. to Sonn., Poems 1877, I. 131. When, at last, the thing is toiled and hammered into fit shape. Ibid. (1817), Biog. Lit., ix. I. 148. In Schelling … I first found a genial coincidence with much that I had toiled out for myself.
1823. Praed, Troubadour, I. 487. ‘Toil yet another toil,’ quoth he.
5. To subject to toil, cause to work hard; to weary, tire, fatigue, esp. with work. Toil out, to tire out or exhaust with toil. arch. and dial.
1549. Coverdale, etc., Erasm. Par. Jas., 36. You are vexed in your mynde, and … toyled with sondrye tumultes of cares.
1596. Danett, trans. Comines (1614), 328. The poore man that trauelleth and toileth his body to get foode.
1607. Markham, Caval., IV. (1617), 16. The very toyling him vpon the deep lands, will bring him to a weaknesse in his limbs.
1610. Holland, Camden’s Brit., 55. The army was toiled out with cruell tempests.
1760. W. Dodd, Hymn to Gd. Nat., Poems (1767), 6. Steeds much toil’d, ill fed.
1825. Scott, Talism., xvi. Physicians had to toil their wits to invent names for imaginary maladies.
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., I. VII. ix. A man so tossed and toiled for twenty-four hours and more.
† b. refl. Obs.
1587. Golding, De Mornay, xi. (1592), 160. [For] the diuine Prouidence … to toyle it selfe in the cark and care of so many particular things.
1596. Danett, trans. Comines (1614), 220. What needed he thus to haue toiled himselfe?
a. 1677. Hale, Prim. Orig. Man., IV. vi. 343. Let Men toyl themselves till their Brains be fired,… they will toyl in vain.
† 6. trans. To labor upon; to work at; esp. to till (the earth, ground, or soil).
1552. Huloet, Toyle or labour the earth, solicito.
1614. W. B., Philosopher’s Banquet (ed. 2), A ij. Like Alchemists toyling the Stone.
1616. Surfl. & Markh., Country Farme, 151. The Mules … are vsed to toile the earth.
III. † 7. trans. Cookery. To stir, mix by stirring. Obs.
c. 1430. Two Cookery-bks., 24. Toyle hem with Flowre, an frye hem. Ibid., 54. Toyle yt with þin hond al þes togederys.
c. 1550. Lacy, Wyl Bucke’s Test. (Halliw.), 59. Sete him [the chine] on the fire, and toyle him with a pot staffe tyl he sethe for quailing and then he shal be browne of his owne kinde.
