Worked very hard and with great effort, especially at physical or exhausting labor.
From Old French 'toiler' meaning 'to pull or drag,' possibly from Latin 'tutela' meaning 'protection' or 'to stir.' The word evolved in English to mean intense, difficult work that requires you to struggle and strain.
The phrase 'toiling masses' became powerful in political language because 'toil' specifically captures the exhaustion and strain of labor—it's not neutral like 'work,' but emotionally loaded to convey struggle and suffering, which is why revolutionaries loved the word.
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