English
laboratory
Laboratory comes from Medieval Latin labōrātōrius ‘laborable’, 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. 600–1500labōrātōrium3neuter of labōrātōrius
- Englishearliest quotation 1837laboratory3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin laboro
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin laboratorium
- 3 Wiktionary, English laboratory
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, The Laboratory: “Again she read the passage that had riveted her…”.
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 laboratoryneuter of labōrātōrius
- Englishearliest quotation 1837laboratoryWiktionary, English laboratory. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, The Laboratory: “Again she read the passage that had riveted her…”
Linked words
through Latin labor ‘work’
labour, collapse, lava, lapse, laborious, labile, 10 more
through Latin labōrō ‘to work’
Today it means
noun A room, building or institution equipped for scientific research, experimentation or analysis.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “laboratory”; 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 / laboratory