affliction

affliction

English

Etymology

From Middle English affliction, affliccioun, from Old French afliction, borrowed from Latin afflīctiōnem, from affligere, whence English afflict.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈflɪkʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: af‧flic‧tion

Noun

affliction (countable and uncountable, plural afflictions)

1. A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony.
   • 1781, [Mostyn John Armstrong], History and Antiquities of the County of Norfolk. Volume IX. Containing the Hundreds of Smithdon, Taverham, Tunstead, Walsham, and Wayland, volume IX, Norwich: Printed by J. Crouse, for M. Booth, bookseller, OCLC 520624543, page 51:

     BEAT on, proud billows; Boreas blow; / Swell, curled waves, high as Jove's roof; / Your incivility doth ſhow, / That innocence is tempeſt proof; / Though ſurly Nereus frown, my thoughts are calm; / Then ſtrike, Affliction, for thy wounds are balm. [Attributed to Roger L'Estrange (1616–1704).]

2. Something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony.
   • 1913, Willa Cather, O Pioneers!:

     She wore a man's long ulster (not as if it were an affliction, but as if it were very comfortable and belonged to her; carried it like a young soldier) [...]

Derived terms

• bread of affliction
• self-affliction

 

Translations

a state of pain, suffering, distress or agony

Armenian: վիշտ (hy) (višt) Bulgarian: болка (bg) (bolka), измъчване (bg) (izmǎčvane), огорчение (bg) (ogorčenie) Chinese: Cantonese: 痛苦 Mandarin: 痛苦 (zh) Dutch: lijden (nl) n, pijn (nl) m or f Esperanto: aflikto Finnish: kärsimys (fi), tuska (fi) French: affliction (fr) f, détresse (fr) f Galician: anoto m German: Leiden (de) n, Behinderung (de) f Gothic: 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌷𐍃 m (slahs), 𐌰𐌲𐌲𐍅𐌹𐌸𐌰 f (aggwiþa) Greek: Ancient: θλῖψις f (thlîpsis) Irish: angar m, galar (ga) m, doilíos m Italian: afflizione (it) f Ladino: afrision f, afriisyon f Malay: kepayahan f Plautdietsch: Älent n Polish: cierpienie (pl) n, przypadłość f, afekcja (pl) f (dated) Portuguese: aflição (pt) f Russian: страда́ние (ru) n (stradánije), печа́ль (ru) f (pečálʹ), огорче́ние (ru) n (ogorčénije), боль (ru) f (bolʹ), го́ре (ru) n (góre), муче́ние (ru) n (mučénije) Serbo-Croatian: patnja (sh) f, trpljenje (sh) Spanish: aflicción (es) f, tribulación (es) f, quebranto (es) Turkish: ızdırap (tr), dert (tr), keder (tr)

something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony

Dutch: aandoening (nl) f, kwelling (nl) f French: affliction (fr) f Italian: afflizione (it) f

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French

Etymology

From Old French afliction, borrowed from Latin afflīctiōnem.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

affliction f (plural afflictions)

1. (countable and uncountable) affliction

References

• “affliction”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.