ordeal
ordeal
noun
noun
- a painful or horrific experience, especially a protracted one
（尤指长期的）煎熬，折磨，磨难
the ordeal of having to give evidence.
不得不出庭作证的难熬经历。 - (historical)an ancient test of guilt or innocence by subjection of the accused to severe pain, survival of which was taken as divine proof of innocence
(史)神明裁判，神判（把被告是否经得起剧痛的考验作为被告是否无辜的神谕）
- Old English ordāl, ordēl, of Germanic origin; related to German urteilen 'give judgement', from a base meaning 'share out'. The word is not found in Middle English (except once in Chaucer's Troylus); modern use of sense 2 began in the late 16th cent., whence sense 1 (mid 17th cent.)
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