Nearby Words

labors

[ley-ber] Origin

la·bor

[ley-ber]
noun
1.
productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain.
2.
the body of persons engaged in such activity, especially those working for wages.
3.
this body of persons considered as a class (distinguished from management and capital).
4.
physical or mental work, especially of a hard or fatiguing kind; toil.
5.
a job or task done or to be done.
EXPAND
6.
the physical effort and periodic uterine contractions of childbirth.
7.
the interval from the onset of these contractions to childbirth.
8.
(initial capital letter) Also called Labor Department. Informal. the Department of Labor.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
9.
to perform labor; exert one's powers of body or mind; work; toil.
10.
to strive, as toward a goal; work hard (often followed by for): to labor for peace.
11.
to act, behave, or function at a disadvantage (usually followed by under): to labor under a misapprehension.
12.
to be in the actual process of giving birth.
13.
to roll or pitch heavily, as a ship.

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Labors is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
verb (used with object)
14.
to develop or dwell on in excessive detail: Don't labor the point.
15.
to burden or tire: to labor the reader with unnecessary detail.
16.
British Dialect. to work or till (soil or the like).
adjective
17.
of or pertaining to workers, their associations, or working conditions: labor reforms.
Also, especially British, labour.


Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English labour < Middle French < Latin labōr- (stem of labor) work

la·bor·ing·ly, adverb
la·bor·less, adjective
an·ti·la·bor, adjective
non·la·bor, adjective
out·la·bor, verb (used with object)
EXPAND
o·ver·la·bor, verb (used with object)
pre·la·bor, noun, verb (used without object)
pro·la·bor, adjective
un·la·bor·ing, adjective
COLLAPSE


2. working people, working class. 4. exertion. See work. 6. parturition, delivery. 9. drudge. 14. overdo.


1, 4. idleness; leisure. 1, 4, 9. rest.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To labors
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

labor
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 M.Fr. labourer, from L. laborare, from labor. The verb in modern
EXPAND
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.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

labor la·bor (lā'bər)
n.
The physical efforts of expulsion of the fetus and the placenta from the uterus during parturition. v. la·bored, la·bor·ing, la·bors
To undergo the efforts of childbirth.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
labor   (lā'bər)  Pronunciation Key 
The process by which the birth of a mammal occurs, beginning with contractions of the uterus and ending with the expulsion of the fetus and the placenta.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

labor definition


The physical processes at the end of a normal pregnancy, including opening of the cervix and contractions of the uterus, that lead to the birth of the baby.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
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