English
laboratorium
Laboratorium comes from Medieval Latin labōrātōrium ‘laboratory’, from Late Latin labōrātor ‘worker’, and ultimately from Old Latin labōs.
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCElabōs1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabor1‘work’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabōrō2‘to work’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CElabōrātor2‘worker’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500labōrātōrius2‘laborable’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500labōrātōrium3‘laboratory’neuter of labōrātōrius
- Englishearliest quotation 1869laboratorium3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin laboro
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin laboratorium
- 3 Wiktionary, English laboratorium
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, The Dawn of Liberty: “Chemical Laboratorium of Dr. Faustus, at drawing of curtain…”.
Lineage
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCElabōsWiktionary, Latin laboro
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaborWiktionary, Latin laboro‘work’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabōrōWiktionary, Latin laboratorium‘to work’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CElabōrātorWiktionary, Latin laboratorium‘worker’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500labōrātōriusWiktionary, Latin laboratorium‘laborable’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500labōrātōriumWiktionary, English laboratorium‘laboratory’neuter of labōrātōrius
- Englishearliest quotation 1869laboratoriumWiktionary, English laboratorium. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, The Dawn of Liberty: “Chemical Laboratorium of Dr. Faustus, at drawing of curtain…”
Linked words
through Latin labor ‘work’
labour, collapse, lava, lapse, laborious, labile, 10 more
through Latin labōrō ‘to work’
Today it means
noun A laboratory.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “laboratorium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin laboro, Latin laboratorium. 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 / laboratorium