LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

labōriōsus

labōriōsus (feminine labōriōsa, neuter labōriōsum, superlative labōriōsissimus, adverb labōriōsē)
Classical[ɫa.boː.riˈoː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[la.bo.riˈɔː.s̬us]

Meaning

  1. adjectivelaborious, toilsome, demanding
    Cui dōnō lepidum novum libellum āridō modo pūmice expolītum? Cornēlī, tibi: namque tū solēbās meās esse aliquid putāre nūgās jam tum, cum ausus es ūnus Ītalōrum omne aevum tribus explicāre cartīsc. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 1.1–7
  2. adjectiveindustrious, hard-working

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativelabōriōsuslabōriōsalabōriōsum
genitivelabōriōsīlabōriōsaelabōriōsī
dativelabōriōsōlabōriōsaelabōriōsō
accusativelabōriōsumlabōriōsamlabōriōsum
ablativelabōriōsōlabōriōsālabōriōsō
vocativelabōriōselabōriōsalabōriōsum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativelabōriōsīlabōriōsaelabōriōsa
genitivelabōriōsōrumlabōriōsārumlabōriōsōrum
dativelabōriōsīslabōriōsīslabōriōsīs
accusativelabōriōsōslabōriōsāslabōriōsa
ablativelabōriōsīslabōriōsīslabōriōsīs
vocativelabōriōsīlabōriōsaelabōriōsa

lăbōrĭōsus, a, um, adj. 2. labor,
I. full of labor, laborious.
I. Attended with much labor, laborious, toilsome, wearisome, difficult, troublesome (syn. operosus): deambulatio, Ter. Heaut. 4, 6, 3: nihil laboriosius, Cic. Leg. 3, 8, 19: operum longe maximum ac laboriosissimum, Liv. 5, 19 fin.: si qua laboriosa est (fabula), ad me curritur, difficult to put on the stage, opp. lenis, Ter. Heaut. prol. 44.—
II. Transf.
A. Inclined to labor, laborious, industrious, for the Gr. φιλόπονος (syn.: impiger, industrius): homines, Cic. Tusc. 2, 15, 35: bos laboriosissimus hominis socius in agricultura, Col. 6 praef. § 7.—
B. That undergoes much trouble and hardship, troubled, harassed: quid enim nobis duobus laboriosius? Cic. Mil. 2, 5; id. Phil. 11, 4, 4.—Hence, adv.: lăbōrĭōsē, laboriously, wearisomely, with difficulty, Plaut. Merc. 3, 1, 9; Cels. 5, 17, 2; Cat. 38, 1.—Comp., Cic. Rosc. Com. 11, 31.—Sup.: laboriosissime, Cic. Div. in Caecil. 21, 71; Suet. Caes. 43 al.

Origins

From labor (“work, exertion”) + -ōsus. However, the inserted -i- is enigmatic. It may be a result of analogy: cūra : cūriōsus = labor : ?

Descendants
  • Englishlaborious
  • Frenchlaborieux
  • Italianlaborioso
  • Portugueselaborioso
  • Spanishlaborioso

In English words that came into English from labōriōsus

  • laboriouslabōriōsus

Quick answers

What does labōriōsus mean in Latin?
labōriōsus, a adjective, means “laborious, toilsome, demanding; industrious, hard-working”.
How do you pronounce labōriōsus?
In classical Latin, [ɫa.boː.riˈoː.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [la.bo.riˈɔː.s̬us].