The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Drudgery \Drudg"er*y\ (dr[u^]j"[~e]r*[y^]), n.
   The act of drudging; disagreeable and wearisome labor;
   ignoble or slavish toil.
   [1913 Webster]

         The drudgery of penning definitions.     --Macaulay.
   [1913 Webster]

         Paradise was a place of bliss . . . without drudgery
         and with out sorrow.                     --Locke.

   Syn: See Toll.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

drudgery
    n 1: hard monotonous routine work [syn: drudgery, plodding,
         grind, donkeywork]