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Feliç dia del tripalium

A tripalium is a three-staked instrument of torture. The subject of the torture would be tied to the tripalium and burnt with fire. The words “travail” and “travel” have their roots in this word, as do the cognate Spanish verb trabajar (to work), Portuguese verb trabalhar and French verb travailler (to work)

The structure and original use of the tripalium is far from clear; many attempts to explain it appear to be based on nothing more than the word’s literal meaning of “three stakes”.

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