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, 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

• afflictionless
• 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 (tung³ fu²)

  Mandarin: 痛苦 (zh) (tòngkǔ)

• 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

French

Etymology

Inherited 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.