labour
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Alternative spellings
- labor (US)
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English labouren < Old French laborer < Latin laborare (“‘(intransitive) to labor, strive, exert onself, suffer, be in distress, (transitive) to work out, elaborate’”) < labor (“‘labor, toil, work, exertion’”); perhaps remotely akin to robur (“‘strength’”).
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /leɪbə/
- Audio (UK)help, file
- Rhymes: -eɪbə(r)
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
labour (countable and uncountable; plural labours) (British, Canadian)
- Effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
- (uncountable) Workers in general; the working class, the workforce; sometimes specifically the labour movement, organised labour.
- (uncountable) A political party or force aiming or claiming to represent the interests of labour.
- The act of a mother giving birth
- The time period during which a mother gives birth.
[edit] Usage notes
Like many other words ending in -our/-or, this word is spelled labour in the UK and labor in the U.S.; in Canada, labour is preferred, but labor is not unknown. In Australia, where labour is the usual spelling, labor is nonetheless enshrined in the name of the Australian Labor Party, reflecting the fact that the -or endings had some currency in Australia in the past.
[edit] Translations
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[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to labour (third-person singular simple present labours, present participle labouring, simple past and past participle laboured)
- (intransitive) To toil, to work.
- (transitive) To belabour, to emphasise or expand upon (a point in a debate, etc).
[edit] Translations
[edit] Related terms
[edit] External links
- labour in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- labour in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- labour at OneLook® Dictionary Search
[edit] Breton
[edit] Noun
labour
[edit] French
[edit] Noun
labour m.
