From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Ail \Ail\ ([=a]l), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Ailed} ([=a]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Ailing}.] [OE. eilen, ailen, AS. eglan to trouble, pain; akin to Goth. us-agljan to distress, agls troublesome, irksome, aglo, aglitha, pain, and prob. to E. awe. [root]3.] To affect with pain or uneasiness, either physical or mental; to trouble; to be the matter with; -- used to express some uneasiness or affection, whose cause is unknown; as, what ails the man? I know not what ails him.
What aileth thee, Hagar? --Gen. xxi. 17.
Note: It is never used to express a specific disease. We do not say, a fever ails him; but, something ails him.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Ail \Ail\, verb (used without an object) To be affected with pain or uneasiness of any sort; to be ill or indisposed or in trouble.
When he ails ever so little . . . he is so peevish. --Richardson.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Ail \Ail\, noun Indisposition or morbid affection. --Pope.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: aromatic bulb used as seasoning [syn: {garlic}]
verb
1: be unwell, ill, or ill disposed
2: cause bodily suffering to [syn: {afflict}, {trouble}, {pain}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
92 Moby Thesaurus words for "ail": ache, afflict, agonize, anguish, be affected with, be the matter, beset, bite, blanch, blench, bother, burn, chafe, complain of, complicate matters, concern, convulse, crucify, cut, discommode, distress, disturb, excruciate, feel ill, feel pain, feel the pangs, fester, fret, gall, give pain, gnaw, grate, grimace, grind, gripe, harass, harrow, have a misery, hurt, inconvenience, inflame, inflict pain, irk, irritate, kill by inches, labor under, lacerate, martyr, martyrize, nip, pain, perplex, perturb, pierce, pinch, plague, pother, pound, prick, prolong the agony, put out, put to it, put to torture, puzzle, rack, rankle, rasp, rub, shoot, shrink, smart, stab, sting, suffer, thrill, throb, tingle, torment, torture, trouble, try, tweak, twinge, twist, twitch, upset, vex, wince, worry, wound, wring, writhe
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