- tribulation
- early 13c., from O.Fr. tribulacion (12c.), from L.L. tribulationem (nom. tribulatio) "distress, trouble, affliction" (c.200), from tribulatus, pp. of tribulare "to oppress, afflict," a figurative use by Christian writers of L. tribulare "to press," also possibly "to thresh out grain," from tribulum "threshing sledge," from stem of terere "to rub" (see throw) + -bulum, suffix forming names of tools.