ordeal
/ɔːˈdiːl/noun
1
- 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。
2
- 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）。
词源
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.）.