laborar

Laborar is a verb found in Latin and in several Romance languages, connected to the idea of work or toil. It derives from the Latin infinitive laborare, meaning to labor, to toil, or to work, and it has contributed to related forms in modern languages.

In Latin, laborare is the standard infinitive form of the verb, used across classical and late Latin texts to denote physical or mental effort and productive activity. The verb was regularly conjugated to express person, number, tense, and mood, and it appears in a wide range of prose and poetry.

In Spanish, laborar exists as a formal or literary verb with a meaning close to “to labor” or “to work on something.” It is generally rarer in everyday speech, where trabajar is more common. Laborar is more likely to be found in legal, religious, or technical writing, or in phrases such as laborar en un proyecto, meaning to work on a project, or similar contexts that emphasize effort or exertion.

In Portuguese, laborar is also a formal term used to denote performing work or engaging in labor. It appears in legal, administrative, or technical language and in certain fixed expressions.

Overall, Laborar functions as a historical and formal counterpart to more common verbs for “to work” in Spanish and Portuguese. It highlights the broader Latin roots of these languages and their specialized registers.