Ailing

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ail \Ail\ ([=a]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ailed} ([=a]ld); p. pr.
     & vb. n. {Ailing}.] [OE. eilen, ailen, AS. eglan to trouble,
     pain; akin to Goth. us-agljan to distress, agls troublesome,
     irksome, aglo, aglitha, pain, and prob. to E. awe. [root]3.]
     To affect with pain or uneasiness, either physical or mental;
     to trouble; to be the matter with; -- used to express some


     uneasiness or affection, whose cause is unknown; as, what
     ails the man? I know not what ails him.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           What aileth thee, Hagar?                 --Gen. xxi.
                                                    17.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: It is never used to express a specific disease. We do
           not say, a fever ails him; but, something ails him.
           [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  ailing \ailing\ adj.
     sick; unhealthy. Opposite of {well} or {healthy}.
  
     Syn: indisposed, peaked(predicate), poorly(predicate),
          sickly, unwell.
          [WordNet 1.5]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ailing
       adj : somewhat ill or prone to illness; "my poor ailing
             grandmother"; "feeling a bit indisposed today"; "you
             look a little peaked"; "feeling poorly"; "a sickly
             child"; "is unwell and can't come to work" [syn: {indisposed},
              {peaked(p)}, {poorly(p)}, {sickly}, {unwell}, {under
             the weather}]