Etymologically
Log in

laboriose

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 20:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɫa.boː.riˈoː.seː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [la.bo.riˈɔː.s̬e][1]

Forms

labōriōsē (comparative labōriōsius, superlative labōriōsissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin labōriōsus (“toilsome, laborious”) + -ē.[2][1][3] De Vaan lists the adjective among the derivatives of labor2 (“toil”); he finds the usual connection of that noun with labō (“to totter”) unconvincing.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Catullus,[5] but the OLD's earliest examples include Cicero, who says that the cleverer a man is, the more irritably and laboriously he teaches.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It means with much labour, laboriously,[2][7] as in Cicero's prosecutors who accuse most diligently and laboriously, Celsus' ingredients for plasters ground with effort and Pliny the Elder's lead mined in Spain with more labour.[2][6] Suetonius uses the superlative of administering justice with great perseverance.[6]

It also meant with hardship or suffering:[2][7] Catullus writes malest … tuo Catullo, malest … et laboriose, “it goes badly and painfully for your Catullus”,[2][8] Seneca joins it with dure and aspere, and Pliny the Elder reports from Theophrastus that old men sneeze with more difficulty.[2] British medieval writers used both senses,[9] and Bede writes of holding the seat of a kingdom for twenty-eight years laboriosissime.[9]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of teaching laboriously.[2][5]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of suffering.[2][5]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of grinding ingredients.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of mining lead.[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With much labour, laboriously.[2][10]
  2. With hardship or suffering, painfully.[2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press