Laboring

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Engaging in strenuous efforts, whether mental or physical, to accomplish tasks or responsibilities
2. Committing to difficult work that often involves perseverance and a significant investment of energy
3. Exerting effort through intense physical or mental activity to achieve a goal ; going through the process of childbirth, involving contractions to deliver a baby

Etymology: "Laboring" is the American spelling of the present participle and gerund of "labor," so its history is that of the verb itself. The verb came into English from Old French "labourer," which descends from Latin "laborare," meaning to work, to toil, or to be burdened. The Latin noun "labor" carried the sense of effort and hardship, and the English verb kept that weight: to labor was originally to exert oneself strenuously, often under strain, rather than simply to be occupied. The spelling difference is the one most readers notice. English retained the "-our" ending from French in British usage, while American spelling dropped the "u" in the nineteenth century, as part of a broader effort by Noah Webster and others to simplify English spelling. The same change produced "color" and "honor" in American English.

Synonyms: working, toiling, striving, endeavoring, exerting

Antonyms: resting, relaxing, idling, leisure, playing