Word Study
ordeal
CIDE DICTIONARY
ordeal, n. [AS. ordāl, ord, a judgment; akin to D. oordeel, G. urteil, urtheil; orig., what is dealt out, the prefix or- being akin to ā- compounded with verbs, G. er-, ur-, Goth. us-, orig. meaning, out. See Deal, v. & n. , and cf. Arise, Ort.].
- An ancient form of test to determine guilt or innocence, by appealing to a supernatural decision, -- once common in Europe, and still practiced in the East and by savage tribes. [1913 Webster]" In England ordeal by fire and ordeal by water were used, the former confined to persons of rank, the latter to the common people. The ordeal by fire was performed, either by handling red-hot iron, or by walking barefoot and blindfold over red-hot plowshares, laid at unequal distances. If the person escaped unhurt, he was adjudged innocent; otherwise he was condemned as guilty. The ordeal by water was performed, either by plunging the bare arm to the elbow in boiling water, an escape from injury being taken as proof of innocence, or by casting the accused person, bound hand and foot, into a river or pond, when if he floated it was an evidence of guilt, but if he sunk he was acquitted. It is probable that the proverbial phrase, to go through fire and water, denoting severe trial or danger, is derived from the ordeal. See
Wager of battle , underWager ." [1913 Webster] - Any severe trial, or test; a painful experience. [1913 Webster]
ordeal, a.
Of or pertaining to trial by ordeal. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
ordeal, n.
1 a painful or horrific experience; a severe trial.
2 hist. an ancient esp. Germanic test of guilt or innocence by subjection of the accused to severe pain or torture, survival of which was taken as divine proof of innocence.
1 a painful or horrific experience; a severe trial.
2 hist. an ancient esp. Germanic test of guilt or innocence by subjection of the accused to severe pain or torture, survival of which was taken as divine proof of innocence.
Idiom
ordeal tree the tanghin.
Etymology
OE ordal, ordel f. Gmc: cf. DEAL(1)
THESAURUS
ordeal
Sabbat, acid test, adversity, affliction, anguish, assay, blank determination, brouillon, calvary, criterion, cross, crucial test, crucible, determination, disaster, distress, docimasy, essay, feeling out, fiery ordeal, first draft, ghost dance, grief, hardship, kiteflying, magic circle, misery, misfortune, nightmare, ordeal by battle, probation, proof, rough draft, rough sketch, sounding out, standard, suffering, test, test case, touchstone, tragedy, trial, trials and tribulations, tribulation, tribulations, troubles, try, verification, visitationROGET THESAURUS
ordeal
Pain
N mental suffering, pain, dolor, suffering, sufferance, ache, smart, passion, displeasure, dissatisfaction, discomfort, discomposure, disquiet, malaise, inquietude, uneasiness, vexation of spirit, taking, discontent, dejection, weariness, anhedonia, annoyance, irritation, worry, infliction, visitation, plague, bore, bother, botheration, stew, vexation, mortification, chagrin, esclandre, mauvais quart d'heur, care, anxiety, solicitude, trouble, trial, ordeal, fiery ordeal, shock, blow, cark, dole, fret, burden, load, concern, grief, sorrow, distress, affliction, woe, bitterness, heartache, carking cares, heavy heart, aching heart, bleeding heart, broken heart, heavy affliction, gnawing grief, unhappiness, infelicity, misery, tribulation, wretchedness, desolation, despair, extremity, prostration, depth of misery, nightmare, ephialtes, incubus, pang, anguish, agony, torture, torment, purgatory, hell upon earth, iron age, reign of terror, slough of despond, peck of troubles, ills that flesh is heir to, miseries of human life, unkindest cut of all, sufferer, victim, prey, martyr, object of compassion, wretch, shorn lamb, in pain, in a state of pain, full of pain, suffering, pained, afflicted, worried, displeased, aching, griped, sore, on the rack, in limbo, between hawk and buzzard, uncomfortable, uneasy, ill at ease, in a taking, in a way, disturbed, discontented, out of humor, weary, heavy laden, stricken, crushed, a prey to, victimized, ill-used, unfortunate, to be pitied, doomed, devoted, accursed, undone, lost, stranded, fey, unhappy, infelicitous, poor, wretched, miserable, woe-begone, cheerless, careworn, concerned, sorry, sorrowing, sorrowful, cut up, chagrined, horrified, horror-stricken, in grief, plunged in grief, a prey to grief, in tears, steeped to the lips in misery, heart-stricken, heart-broken, heart-scalded, broken-hearted, in despair, the iron entered into our soul, haeret lateri lethalis arundo, one's heart bleeding, down, thou climbing sorrow, mirth cannot move a soul in agony, nessun maggior dolere che ricordarsi del tempo fel, sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier th, the Niobe of Nations.Sorcery
N sorcery, occult art, occult sciences, magic, the black art, necromancy, theurgy, thaumaturgy, demonology, demonomy, demonship, diablerie, bedevilment, witchcraft, witchery, glamor, fetishism, fetichism, feticism, ghost dance, hoodoo, obi, obiism, voodoo, voodooism, Shamanism (Esquimaux), vampirism, conjuration, bewitchery, exorcism, enchantment, mysticism, second sight, mesmerism, animal magnetism, od force, odylic force, electrobiology, clairvoyance, spiritualism, spirit rapping, table turning, divination, sortilege, ordeal, sortes Virgilianae, hocus-pocus, magic, magical, mystic, weird, cabalistic, talismanic, phylacteric, incantatory, charmed, Circean, odylic, voodoo.Experiment
N experiment, essay, analysis, screen, trial, tentative method, t=atonnement, verification, probation, experimentum crucis, proof, (demonstration), criterion, diagnostic, test, probe, crucial test, acid test, litmus test, crucible, reagent, check, touchstone, pix, assay, ordeal, ring, litmus paper, curcuma paper, turmeric paper, test tube, analytical instruments, empiricism, rule of thumb, feeler, trial balloon, pilot balloon, messenger balloon, pilot engine, scout, straw to show the wind, speculation, random shot, leap in the dark, analyzer, analyst, assayist, adventurer, experimenter, experimentist, experimentalist, scientist, engineer, technician, subject, experimentee, guinea pig, experimental animal, protocol, experimental method, blind experiment, double-blind experiment, controlled experiment, poll, survey, opinion poll, epidemiological survey, retrospective analysis, retrospective survey, prospective survey, prospective analysis, statistical analysis, literature search, library research, tryout, audition, discovery, measurement, evidence, deduction, induction, abduction, experimental, empirical, probative, probatory, probationary, provisional, analytic, docimastic, tentative, unverified, unproven, speculative, untested, on trial, under examination, on probation, under probation, on one's trial, on approval, check it out, give it a try, see how it goes, Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.For further exploring for "ordeal" in Webster Dictionary Online
