It's the word of the day for September 30th.
Today's word is tribulation, spelled T-R-I-B-U-L-A-T-I-O-N.
Tribulation is a noun.
Tribulation, which is often used in the phrase trials and tribulations,
refers to an experience that causes suffering.
It can also mean unhappiness, pain, or suffering.
Here's the word used in a sentence from the Chicago Sun Times.
Kennedy Carter doesn't shy away from the tribulations of her early years in the WNBA.
She has spoken at length this season about how her year away from the WNBA allowed her to grow on and off the court.
Still, there's a competitive edge to Carter that won't ever be tamed.
It would be an understatement to say that undergoing trials and tribulations is a drag,
but the origins of the word tribulation have much to do with literal dragging.
Tribulation comes via Anglo-French from the Latin noun tribulum,
which refers to an ancient tool that separates grain seed from the rest of the plant when it is dragged over a harvest.
If one imagines such a thresher working on a human being,
a harrowing thought indeed, the connection to tribulation's present meaning is understandable.
These days,
tribulation is commonly used as a plural noun and paired with the word trials to refer to any kind of drawn-out struggle,
though lovers of John Milton's famous 17th century epic poem Paradise Lost may recognize it unpaired from a passage describing life as tried in sharp tribulation and refined by faith and faithful works.
With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.