Labour

Wikipedia

See also Labour

English

Alternative spellings

• labor (US)

Etymology

From Middle English labouren < Old French laborer < Latin laborare (“‘(intransitive) to labor, strive, exert onself, suffer, be in distress, (transitive) to work out, elaborate’”) < labor (“‘labor, toil, work, exertion’”); perhaps remotely akin to robur (“‘strength’”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈleɪ.bə/

• Audio (UK)	noicon
  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪbə(r)

Noun

Singular Labour

Plural s

Labour (s) (British, Canadian)

1. Effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
2. (uncountable) Workers in general; the working class, the workforce; sometimes specifically the labour movement, organised labour.
3. (uncountable) A political party or force aiming or claiming to represent the interests of labour.
4. The act of a mother giving birth
5. The time period during which a mother gives birth.

Usage notes

Like many other words ending in -our/-or, this word is spelled labour in the UK and labor in the U.S.; in Canada, labour is preferred, but labor is not unknown. In Australia, where labour is the usual spelling, labor is nonetheless enshrined in the name of the Australian Labor Party, reflecting the fact that the -or endings had some currency in Australia in the past.

Translations

work

Armenian: աշխատանք hy(hy) (ašxatank’) Czech: práce cs(cs) f., námaha cs(cs) f. Finnish: aherrus fi(fi) French: ouvrage fr(fr) m., travail fr(fr) m. German: Arbeit de(de) f. Greek: εργασία el(el) (ergasía) f., δουλειά el(el) (douleiá) f. Hungarian: munka hu(hu) Italian: lavoro it(it) m.

Nahuatl: tequiua Old English: earfeþe ang(ang) Portuguese: trabalho pt(pt) Russian: труд ru(ru) m. Scottish Gaelic: saothair gd(gd) f. Spanish: trabajo es(es) Swedish: arbete sv(sv) Telugu: శ్రమ (srama)

workers

Czech: dělnictvo cs(cs) n., pracovní síly cs(cs) Finnish: työläiset fi(fi), työvoima fi(fi) German: Arbeiter de(de) m. pl. Greek: εργατοδυναμικό el(el) (ergatodynamikó) n. Hungarian: munkásság hu(hu)

Italian: lavoratori it(it) m. pl., lavoranti it(it) m. and f. pl. Russian: рабочий класс m. Spanish: campesinos es(es), trabajadores es(es) Swedish: arbetskraft sv(sv) Telugu: కార్మికులు (kaarmikulu)

giving birth

Armenian: ծննդաբերություն hy(hy) (çnndaberut’yun), երկունք hy(hy) (erkunk’) Czech: porod cs(cs) m., porodní bolesti Finnish: synnytys fi(fi) French: accouchement fr(fr) m. German: gebären de(de) Greek: ωδίνες τοκετού el(el) (odínes toketoù), πόνοι γέννας el(el) (pónoi génnas), (informal) κοιλοπόνημα el(el) (koilopónima) n.

Hungarian: szülés hu(hu) Italian: parto it(it) m. Scottish Gaelic: saothair gd(gd) f. Spanish: parto es(es) m. Telugu: ప్రసవం (prasavam)

Verb

Infinitive to Labour

Third person singular -

Simple past -

Past participle -

Present participle -

to Labour (third-person singular simple present -, present participle -, simple past and past participle -)

1. (intransitive) To toil, to work.
2. (transitive) To belabour, to emphasise or expand upon (a point in a debate, etc).

   I think we've all got the idea. There's no need to labour the point.

Translations

to work

Armenian: աշխատել hy(hy) (ašxatel) Finnish: raataa fi(fi), ahertaa fi(fi) French: travailler fr(fr) Greek: εργάζομαι el(el) (ergázomai), δουλεύω el(el) (doulévo) Italian: lavorare it(it)

Japanese: 働く (はたらく) Russian: трудиться ru(ru), работать ru(ru) Spanish: trabajar es(es) Swedish: arbeta sv(sv)

Related terms

• laboratory
• laborious
• labourer
• labourite
• labour-saving

External links

• Labour in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Labour in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• Labour at OneLook® Dictionary Search

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Breton

Noun

Labour [[Category:Template:Br nouns|Labour]]

1. work, job

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French

Noun

Labour m. (plural Labours)

1. cultivation

Related terms

• labourable
• labourage
• labourer

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