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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary la·bor
ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Anglo-French labur, from Latin labor; perhaps akin to Latin labare to totter, labi to slip — more at sleep DATE 14th century 1. a. expenditure of physical or mental effort especially when difficult or compulsory b. (1) human activity that provides the goods or services in an economy (2) the services performed by workers for wages as distinguished from those rendered by entrepreneurs for profits c. the physical activities (as dilation of the cervix and contraction of the uterus) involved in giving birth; also : the period of such labor 2. an act or process requiring labor : task 3. a product of labor 4. a. an economic group comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages b. (1) workers employed in an establishment (2) workers available for employment c. the organizations or officials representing groups of workers 5. usually Labour : the Labour party of the United Kingdom or of another part of the Commonwealth of Nations Synonyms: see work
verb DATE 14th century intransitive verb 1. to exert one's powers of body or mind especially with painful or strenuous effort : work 2. to move with great effort the truck labored up the hill 3. to be in the labor of giving birth 4. to suffer from some disadvantage or distress labor under a delusion 5. of a ship : to pitch or roll heavily transitive verb 1. archaic a. to spend labor on or produce by labor b. to strive to effect or achieve 2. to treat or work out in often laborious detail labor the obvious 3. distress , burden 4. to cause to labor
adjective DATE 1640 1. of or relating to labor 2. capitalized : of, relating to, or constituting a political party held to represent the interests of workers or made up largely of organized labor groups English Etymology labor labor (n.) c.1300, "exertion of the body," from O.Fr . labour (Fr.labeur), from L. laborem (nom. labor) "toil, pain, exertion, fatigue, work," perhaps originally "tottering under a burden," related to labere "to totter." The verb is c.1300, from http://O.Fr M.Fr . labourer, from L.laborare, from labor. The verb in modern Fr., Sp., Port. means "to plow;" the wider sense being taken by the equivalent of Eng.travail. Meaning "body of laborers considered as a class" (usually contrasted to capitalists) is from 1839. Sense of "physical exertions of childbirth" is 1595, from Fr. en travail "in (childbirth) suffering" (see travail). Labor Day first marked 1882 in New York City.http://M.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 labor labor (NAmE) = labour Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition n. Function: noun 1 Synonyms: WORK 2, bullwork, donkeywork, drudgery, grind, moil, slavery, slogging, toil, travail Related Words: endeavor, struggle Contrasted Words: ease, leisure, relaxation, repose, rest; amusement, diversion, entertainment, recreation; idleness, inactivity, inertia, inertness, passiveness 2 the physical activities involved in parturition FF1C;first labors are sometimes difficultFF1E; Synonyms: birth pang(s), childbearing, childbirth, travail n. Function: verb 1 to exert one's powers of mind or body especially with painful or strenuous effort FF1C;labored all day to make a livingFF1E; Synonyms: drive, moil, strain, strive, toil, tug, work Idioms: break one's neck Contrasted Words: idle, laze, loaf, lounge; goof (off), shirk; dawdle, poke, putter ||2 Synonyms: TILL , cultivate, dress, tend, workWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged la·bor I. \ˈlābə(r)\ noun (-s) Usage: see -or Etymology: Middle English labour, labor, from Old French, from Latin labor drudgery, hardship, work; probably akin to Latin labi to slip, slide — more at sleep 1. a. : toil , work : (1) : expenditure of physical or mental effort especially when fatiguing, difficult, or compulsory < with labor I excavated a pit — W.H.Hudson †1922 > < with enormous labors he made himself into a popular writer — Carl van Doren > < sentenced to six months at hard labor > (2) : human activity that produces the goods or provides the services in demand in an economy : the services performed by workers for wages as distinguished from those rendered by entrepreneurs for profits < each entrepreneur is eager to buy all the kinds of specific laborhe needs — Ludwig Von Mises > b. (1) : the physical activities involved in parturition consisting essentially of a prolonged series of involuntary contractions of the uterine musculature together with both reflex and voluntary contractions of the abdominal wall < drugs that induce labor > < the record of her previous pregnancies and labors > < went into labor after a fall > (2) : the period of time during which such labor takes place < a 12-hour labor > c. : heavy pitching and rolling of a ship under way 2. : an act or process requiring labor : task < translation is a labor that must be done afresh for each succeeding age — J.C.Swaim > 3. : a product of labor < muddy waters had swept inland … submerging in one implacable tide the labor of years — William Beebe > < inspecting his completed labors with a critical eye > 4. a. : an economic group comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages < the native labor is a floating population — Geographical Journal> : workingmen as an economic or political force < labor has the right to assemble, to bargain collectively, and to strike — Curtis Bok > < win the vote of labor in the coming elections > b. : workers employed in an establishment or available for employment : hired help < the injection of ourselves and all our labor against bubonic plague — Think > : manpower < a plentiful supply of cheap labor from across the border > c. : the organizations or officials (as unions or union leadership) representing groups of workers : organized labor < those in labor who advocate profit sharing by employees > < a conference between labor and management > 5. usually labour usually capitalized a. : the Labour party of the United Kingdom < when Labour is in a position to form a government, the sovereign … calls the leader as prime minister — R.T.McKenzie > b. : the Labour party in another nation of the British Commonwealth (as Australia or New Zealand) < Labour won its first signal political triumph in the New South Wales elections — Alexander Brady > Synonyms: see work II. verb (labored ; labored ; laboring \-b(ə)riŋ\ ; labors) Usage: see -or Etymology: Middle English labouren, laboren, from Middle French labourer, from Old French laborer, labourer, from Latin laborare to suffer, toil, work, from labor, n. intransitive verb 1. : to exert one's powers of body or mind especially with painful or strenuous effort : to perform labor : work , strive < labored to pull their wagons along the slushy road — F.V.W.Mason > < when a writer labors long over a single passage > < began to labor on the creation of a treaty system — D.J.Dallin > < labored as a miner > < labors for the restoration of normal conditions > 2. : to move with great effort (as against opposition or under a burden) < the boat labored upriver — Sherwood Anderson > < the ponderous woman labored puffingly up one flight of stairs — J.B.Benefield > < I had labored through the Prometheus with a Greek dictionary — H.J.Laski > 3. : to be in or enter into labor in the bearing of a child or young 4. : to suffer from some disadvantage or distress — usually used with under < labored under the handicap of arthritis > < labor under a delusion > 5. of a ship : to pitch or roll heavily < labored heavily in a chopping sea — J.L.Motley > transitive verb 1. dialect Britain : till , cultivate < the cultivated area … is labored by some 65,000 farmers — J.M.Mogey > 2. : burden , tire , distress < the details … are endless and I won't labor you with them — Horace Sutton > : make laborious < anxiety … troubled and labored her mature work — Sara H. Hay > 3. archaic a. : to spend labor on or produce by labor < anvils labored by the Cyclops' hands — John Dryden > b. : to strive to effect or achieve : work for < earnestly … labored that reunion — Edmund Burke > 4. : to treat or work out in often laborious detail : develop fully : elaborate < no need to labor the obvious — Bernard DeVoto > 5. obsolete : to use one's influence or favor with or for : urge < the Devil … labors all he can to bring them into the same pit — Robert Burton > 6. : to cause to labor < poets laboring their wits on tasks like these — Gilbert Highet > 7. obsolete : beat , pound , rub < take the white of an egg and labor the same — Book of St. Albans > < the ass … if he be labored with a cudgel — Richard Carew > 8. obsolete : to bring by labor or endeavor to a specified position or state < labored him out of his house — Robert Crowley > III. adjective Usage: see -or Etymology: labor (I) 1. a. : of or relating to labor < labor costs > < an ample labor supply > < labor legislation > b. : of, representing the views or interests of, or dominated by organized labor < labor political activity > < editorials in the labor press > < a labor leader > < districts that are traditionally liberal and labor — New Republic> c. : affecting labor and management < a labor contract > 2. usually capitalized : of, relating to, or constituted by a political party that claims to represent the interests of working men and women or that is characterized by a membership in which organized labor groups predominate: as a. : of, relating to, or constituted by one of several minor political parties usually having a brief period of activity in the United States during the late 19th and 20th centuries — usually used in combination < the Farmer-Labor party of Minnesota > < the American Labor party in New York state … constituted an important political bloc — H.S.Gilbertson > b. usually labour (1) : of, relating to, or constituted by a major political party of the United Kingdom in the 20th century associated with socialistic policies (as the nationalization of basic industries) and characterized by an organization in which trade unions are predominant < election of a Labour candidate to the London County Council > < a Labour majority in the House of Commons > (2) : of, relating to, or constituted by a political party in another nation of the British Commonwealth that is usually similar in membership to the Labour party of the United Kingdom < the power of the Labour caucus in Australia > < New Zealand's first Labour government > IV. \ləˈbō(ə)r, -bȯ(ə)r\ noun (-s) Etymology: Mexican Spanish, from Spanish, farming, tilling, work, from Latin, work : an old Texas unit of land area equal to about 177 acres |
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