ail

[eyl] /eɪl/

verb (used with object)

to cause pain, uneasiness, or trouble to.

verb (used without object)

to be unwell; feel pain; be ill:

He's been ailing for some time.

Origin

before 950; Middle English ail, eilen, Old English eglan to afflict (cognate with Middle Low German egelen annoy, Gothic -agljan), derivative of egle painful; akin to Gothic agls shameful, Sanskrit aghám evil, pain

Can be confused

ale, ail, awl.

Synonyms

1. bother, annoy, distress.

Examples from the web for ail

He would probably be in ail except that the only real witness against him is also a crook and a liar.
Another fact you ail to demonstrate is how the wealthy somehow get rich on the back of the poor.

British Dictionary definitions for ail

ail

/eɪl/

verb

(transitive) to trouble; afflict

(intransitive) to feel unwell

Word Origin

Old English eglan to trouble, from egle troublesome, painful, related to Gothic agls shameful

Word Origin and History for ail

c.1300, from Old English eglan "to trouble, plague, afflict," from Proto-Germanic *azljaz (cf. Old English egle "hideous, loathsome, troublesome, painful;" Gothic agls "shameful, disgraceful," agliþa "distress, affliction, hardship," us-agljan "to oppress, afflict"), from PIE *agh-lo-, suffixed form of root *agh- "to be depressed, be afraid." Related: Ailed; ailing; ails.

It is remarkable, that this word is never used but with some indefinite term, or the word no thing; as What ails him? ... Thus we never say, a fever ails him. [Johnson]