Dictionary

labourer en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈleɪ.bə.ɹə/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree English labour Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English labourer From labour + -er.

Meanings

1. UK standard spelling of laborer.
   • By the mid-19th century, the typical village was sharply divided between the landowning class and the landless, voteless and largely illiterate labourers. 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 392:
   • This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

colabourer · underlabourer