tortuous / torturous
tortuous (TOR-choo-uhs) - adj., winding, twisting, having many turns; convoluted, not straightforward, circuitous; devious, complex, highly involved.
torturous (TOR-cher-uhs) - adj. pertaining to, involving, or causing torture; painful, excruciating.
Two closely related but distinct words. A long legal case can be tortuous (highly complex and involved) and torturous (painful to get through). Both come from the Latin from torquēre, to twist -- the former directly via tortuōsus, the latter via Anglo-Norman from Latin tortūra, a twisting and by extension torment.
---L.
torturous (TOR-cher-uhs) - adj. pertaining to, involving, or causing torture; painful, excruciating.
Two closely related but distinct words. A long legal case can be tortuous (highly complex and involved) and torturous (painful to get through). Both come from the Latin from torquēre, to twist -- the former directly via tortuōsus, the latter via Anglo-Norman from Latin tortūra, a twisting and by extension torment.
---L.