Asked by Troy F

LABORATORY - LABOR
LAB meaning:
x
Work
× Good x Weak

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Do you want a definition/etymology, example words, or help deciding whether to mark this root as "Good" or "Weak"? I can do any of those — below is a quick summary that should cover all three.

- Etymology/meaning: "lab" comes from Latin labor, laborare — meaning "work" or "to work." In English it appears both as the noun "labor" and inside many derivatives.
- Usages:
- As an abbreviation: "lab" = laboratory (place for experiments/work).
- As part of words that keep the "work" sense: labor, laborer, labored, laborious, collaborate (together-work).
- As part of words with semantic drift: elaborate (originally "to work out," now more "detailed/complicated"); laboratory (place for scientific work rather than general manual labor).
- Other senses: "Lab" can also be short for "Labrador" (dog) in informal speech.
- Recommendation on your Good vs Weak question: mark the root as "Good" — it is a productive, stable root with a clear core meaning ("work") that still shows up across many English words. Caveat: some derived words have shifted meaning somewhat, so expect occasional weakening/drift in specific derivatives.

If you want, I can:
- Make a short flashcard list of common words with "lab/labor" and their meanings, or
- Tell which derivatives are strongest vs. those that have drifted. Which would you prefer?