Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Task

Task (tȧsk) , noun

[Old English taske, Old French tasque, French tâche, for tasche, Late Latin tasca, taxa, from Latin taxare to rate, appraise, estimate. See Tax, n. & v.]

1.
Labor or study imposed by another, often in a definite quantity or amount.
Ma task of servile toil. — Milton
Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close. — Longfellow
2.
Business; employment; undertaking; labor.
His mental powers were equal to greater tasks. — Atterbury
Collocations (1)
To take to task , See under Take.

Task , transitive verb

1.
To impose a task upon; to assign a definite amount of business, labor, or duty to.
There task thy maids, and exercise the loom. — Dryden
2.
To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.
3.
To charge; to tax, as with a fault.
Too impudent to task me with those errors. — Beau. & Fl