“Work”, in Spanish, comes from a torture device

In late Latin, a «tripalium» was an instrument of torture made of three stakes to which the condemned was tied. From it came the verb «tripaliare» — to torture — which softened over the centuries into the Spanish «trabajar», to work. The language knew the score from the start.

It isn't a Spanish quirk: French «travail» and Italian «travaglio» come from the same device. And there's an even better twist: so does the English word «travel». In the Middle Ages, travelling meant muddy roads, flea-ridden inns and highwaymen — such an ordeal that the word for torment ended up naming the journey itself.

So when someone says their job is torture, they're not exaggerating. Etymologically speaking, they're being redundant.