labour
pronunciation
How to pronounce labour in British English:
UK [ˈleɪbə(r)]
How to pronounce labour in American English:
US [ˈleɪbər]
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- Noun:
- a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
- concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of labor to the birth of a child
- productive work (especially physical work done for wages)
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- Verb:
- work hard
- strive and make an effort to reach a goal
- undergo the efforts of childbirth
Word Origin
- labour
- labour: [13] Labour comes via Old French labour from Latin labor. This has been linked with the verb labāre ‘slip’, and if the two were related it would mean that the underlying etymological meaning of labour was something like ‘stumble under a burden’. Most of the modern European descendants of Latin labor have progressed from the broad sense ‘work, exertion’ to more specialized meanings – French labourer denotes ‘plough’, for instance, and Spanish labrar ‘plough, carve, embroider’, etc. English has retained it as a formal alternative to work, although the additional obstetric sense developed in the 16th century.
- labour
- chiefly British English spelling of labor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. As short for "the British Labour Party" it is from 1906.
Example
- 1. But labour missed its chance .
- 2. Labour unhappiness is easily explained .
- 3. Labour remains associated with profligacy .
- 4. Labour is repeating that folly .
- 5. Are they chief executives or labour leaders ?