labored

First recorded in 1525–35; labor + -ed²

2. See elaborate.

1250–1300; Middle English labour < Middle French < Latin labōr- (stem of labor) work

4. See work.

The English noun labor comes into English via Old French labor, labour (French labeur ) from Latin labōr-, the inflectional stem of the noun labor “labor, work, toil.” The Latin noun has just about all the meanings of English labor (including that of childbirth), but not the relatively modern English sense “workers, manual workers taken together as a social group or class,” which dates from the 19th century.
The Latin etymology for labor is obscure: the noun may be related to the verb lābī (which has a long ā ) “to move smoothly, slide” (commonly with implication of downward movement). Lābī in its turn may be related to labāre (with a short a in the root syllable) “to be unsteady on one’s feet, falter, totter.” These derivatives of lāb- and lab- may be related to the Latin nouns labium (the source of English labial ) and labrum, both meaning “lip” and, outside Latin, to the Greek noun lobós “lobe (of the ear, liver, or lung), pod (of a vegetable), slip (of a plant)” (and source of English lobe ).