Elaborate
/ɪˈlæb.ə.reɪt/noun
To develop or present in a detailed way; also, carefully worked out or intricate.
Did you know?In Latin, elaborare meant “to work out with effort,” so the word’s hidden power is not magic but transformation: raw work becoming something refined.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leip-
“to stick, adhere; to be in close contact”
Latin
Latin
labor
“toil, exertion, effort”
Latin
Latin
elaborare
“to work out, accomplish with effort”
Late Latin
Latin
elaboratus
“worked out carefully, polished”
Middle English
English
elaboraten
“to work out in detail; to refine”
Modern English
English
elaborate
“to explain or develop in detail; intricate or highly detailed”
Explore more surprising origins