Etymograph

English

elaborate

Elaborate comes from Late Latin ēlabōrātus ‘worked out’, from Latin labōrō ‘to work’, and ultimately from Old Latin labōs.

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCElabōs1earlier origin unknown
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CElabor2‘work, toil, exertion’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabōrō3‘to work’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEēlabōrō2‘to work out’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEēlabōrātus2‘worked out’past participle of ēlabōrō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1871elaborate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin labor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English elaborate
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin elaboro
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1871, Bismarck: “[…] by the time of the subsequent coronation, when…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCElabōsWiktionary, Latin laborearlier origin unknown
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CElaborWiktionary, English elaborate‘work, toil, exertion’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabōrōWiktionary, Latin elaboro‘to work’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEēlabōrōWiktionary, English elaborate‘to work out’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEēlabōrātusWiktionary, English elaborate‘worked out’past participle of ēlabōrō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1871elaborateWiktionary, English elaborate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1871, Bismarck: “[…] by the time of the subsequent coronation, when…”

Linked words

through Late Latin labor ‘work, toil, exertion’

labour, collapse, lava, lapse, laborious, labile, 10 more

through Latin labōrō ‘to work’

collaboration, laboratory, 3 more

Today it means

adj Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “elaborate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin labor, Latin elaboro. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old Latin labōs / elaborate

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