Something that is hard to do, understand, or deal with; a problem or obstacle.
From Latin 'difficilis' (dis- 'not' + facilis 'easy'), literally meaning 'not easy.' Entered English through Old French around the 13th century.
The word 'difficulty' literally means 'not-easy' in Latin, which sounds obvious, but it reveals that Romans had the same problem—they had to say 'not-easy' because they didn't have a simpler word for 'hard,' showing how all languages struggle with negative constructions.
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