laboratorius

Forms

labōrātōrius (feminine labōrātōria, neuter labōrātōrium); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is a medieval derivative of labōrō (“to toil, work”) with the suffix -tōrius;^[1] a Polish dictionary refers it to labōrātor “labourer”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is a charter of 752,^[1] and the word is used of arable land.^[3][1]

Semantic evolution

Medieval Latin used it for land that can be ploughed or that yields a profit,^[3] and in Gascony for land held by a villein.^[4] In Poland it was used of draught animals, of serfs owing labour and of the days on which they worked for the lord,^[2] and in 1498 of a workshop; the noun laboratorium has the same sense there.^[2]

Timeline

• 752 – A charter uses it of arable land.^[1][3]
• 1448 – A Polish record uses it of draught animals.^[2]
• 1498 – A Polish account uses it for a workshop.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) arable, fit for ploughing.^[3][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) Yielding a profit.^[3]
3. (Medieval Latin) Of a villein; held in villein tenure.^[4][1]
4. (Medieval Latin) Used for work: of draught animals, of serfs owing labour, of a day of labour service, of a workshop.^[2]

Related words

• laborator
• laboratorium

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
2. ^ a b c d e f Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
3. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press