c. 1200, "quality of being hard" (obsolete), from hard (adj.) + -ship. Meaning "disadvantage, suffering, privation" is c. 1400.
a life of hardship
the many hardships of frontier life
hardness
hard-nosed
hard-on
hardscrabble
hard-shell
hardship
hardtack
hard-up
hardware
hard-wired
hardwood