tribulation
UK /ˌtɹɪbjʊˈleɪ̯ʃən/ · US /ˌtɹɪbjəˈleɪ̯ʃən/ noun, proper noun
Forms tribulations
- noun Any adversity; a trying period or event.
- proper noun (Christian eschatology) (A period of) persecution before the Second Coming, lasting seven years, which Christians will experience worldwide which will purify and strengthen them.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English tribulation, from Old French tribulacion, from Late Latin trībulātiō (“distress, trouble, tribulation, affliction”), from Latin tribulāre (“to press, probably also thresh out grain”), from trībulum (“a sledge consisting of a wooden block studded with sharp pieces of flint or with iron teeth, used for threshing grain”), from terēre (“to rub”); see trite.
Proprialization from tribulation.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [OE. tribulacium, F. tribulation, L. tribulatio, from tribulare to press, afflict, fr. tribulum a thrashing sledge, akin to terere, tritum, to rub. See Trite.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tribulation”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details