Emily Dickinson Lexicon

agony, n. [L. agōnia > Gk 'wrestling', 'physical contest', 'mental struggle'.] (webplay: anguish, death, extreme, severe).

1. Intense sorrow; severe suffering; deep trouble; prolonged grief; mental anguish.
2. Christlike suffering; extreme spiritual and physical travail; anguish comparable to the desolation of Jesus in Gethsemane and on Calvary; (see Luke 22:41-44).
3. Physical anguish; extreme pain; [fig.] death; dissolution.