Laborare

Laborare is a Latin verb of the first conjugation meaning “to work” or “to toil.” In some contexts it also carries the sense “to suffer” or “to be distressed.” The infinitive is laborare, and the principal parts are laboro, laborare, laboravi, laboratum. It is used both transitively (with a direct object indicating what is worked on) and intransitively to express exertion or hardship.

In classical Latin, laborare describes physical or mental exertion and appears in a range of constructions related to effort and achievement. In ecclesiastical and medieval Latin, the sense of enduring hardship or suffering is common, and the verb appears in devotional and doctrinal texts.

Conjugation and forms: As a regular first-conjugation verb, laborare follows standard endings. Present active indicative: laboro, laboras, laborat, laboramus, laboratis, laborant. Imperfect: laborabam, laborabas, laborabat, laborabamus, laborabatis, laborabant. Future: laborabo, laborabis, laborabit, laborabimus, laborabitis, laborabunt. Passive forms are: laboror, laboraris, laboratur, laboramur, laboramini, laborantur.

Derivatives and modern usage: The verb gives rise to the Latin noun labor (laboris) meaning toil or work, and it underpins modern terms in Romance languages and English. English borrowings and derivatives include labor and laboratory (from Latin laboratorium), as well as the adjective laborious, all reflecting the core sense of exertion and effort embedded in laborare. The word is a standard example in Latin grammars illustrating the regular behavior of the first conjugation.