Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Labour” come from?

Labour (English) comes from Middle English labouren, from Old French laborer, from Latin labōrō, from Latin lābor, from Old Latin labos, from Romanian labă, from Hungarian láb, from Proto-Uralic luwe.

Ancestry of “Labour”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlabouren—
2Old Frenchlaborerto work; to labor
3Latinlabōrō—
4Latinlābor—
5Old Latinlabos—
6Romanianlabăpalm; paw
7Hungarianlábleg; foot; support, stand
8Proto-Uralicluwebone
9Proto-Iranian*Hrawpācáh—
10Proto-Indo-Iranian*Hrawpāćás—

Words derived from “Labour”

  • Labourite
Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hrawpāćás →