Etymograph

English

laborious

Laborious comes from Latin laboriosus ‘laborious, toilsome, demanding’, from labor ‘work, exertion’, and ultimately from Old Latin labōs.

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCElabōs1earlier origin unknown
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabor2‘work, exertion’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaboriosus3‘laborious, toilsome, demanding’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400laborios3
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1697laborious3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin labor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin laboriosus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English laborious
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1697, Virgil, The Fourth Book of the Georgics: “All, with united Force, combine to drive / The…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCElabōsWiktionary, Latin laborearlier origin unknown
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaborWiktionary, Latin laboriosus‘work, exertion’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaboriosusWiktionary, English laborious‘laborious, toilsome, demanding’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400laboriosWiktionary, English laborious
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1697laboriousWiktionary, English laborious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1697, Virgil, The Fourth Book of the Georgics: “All, with united Force, combine to drive / The…”

Linked words

through Latin labor ‘work, exertion’

collapse, labour, laboratory, collaboration, lava, elaborate, lapse, labile, 10 more

Today it means

adj Requiring much physical effort; toilsome.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “laborious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin labor, Latin laboriosus. 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 / laborious

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