lab

Initialism of English Linear A with b as a placeholder.

lab

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Linear A.

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Linear A terms

• IPA^(key): /læb/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æb

Clipping of laboratory, from labor +‎ -ate +‎ -ory.

lab (plural labs)

1. (colloquial) A laboratory.
   • 1962, “Monster Mash”, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Lenny Capizzi (lyrics), performed by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers:

     I was working in the lab late one night
     When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
     For my monster, from his slab, began to rise
     And suddenly, to my surprise
     He did the Mash
     He did the Monster Mash.

   • 2014, Jeff Jacobson, Growth, page 23:

     A man dressed as a lab tech, his blue scrubs startlingly pale against the vivid red and black chaos, moved into sight from behind the SUV. He carried an assault rifle.

   • 2023 August 2, Ben Tinker, Meg Tirrell and Brenda Goodman, “New director named at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after Fauci’s retirement”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     The NIAID supports projects at universities and research organizations around the United States as well as a network of 21 NIAID labs across the country.

   • 2025 March 28, Andrea Fox, “Lab critical to medical device development 'DOGEd'”, in Healthcare IT News‎^[2]:

     Since the lab has been "doged," a petition posted to Change.org by Evgeny Stambulchik asked for signatures to oppose the layoff of the NIST Atomic Spectroscopy Group and has garnered 2,500 signatures as of reporting time. There is also a campaign website.

2. (colloquial) Laboratory experiment, test, investigation or result.

   I dropped my mixture while doing my lab, so I had to start over.

Clipping of Labrador retriever.

lab (plural labs)

1. (colloquial) A Labrador retriever.

• choco lab

• BLA, BAL, Alb., alb, bla, abl.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /ˈlab/ [ˈlʌb]
• Hyphenation: lab

láb m (plural labwá f)

1. side (of a body)

Declension of láb
absolutive	láb
predicative	láaba
subjective	láb
genitive	labtí
Postpositioned forms l-case láabal k-case láabak t-case láabat h-case láabah

Cognate with Saho lab.

• IPA^(key): /ˈlab/ [ˈlʌb]
• Hyphenation: lab

láb m

1. (in compounds) male

• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “lab”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN, page 153

• From lëpe, lëbozë. Historically the inhabitants of the Labëria (“the land of lab”) region. Compare Illyrian *Labeati.^[1]

• Alternatively a back-formation based on Labëri (“Laberia”), borrowed from an unattested South Slavic *labanьja < *olbanьja, rendering the native pre-Albanian name of the country; Albania, Ἀλβανία (Albanía). However, this is doubtful.^[2]

lab m (labe, f.)

1. southern Albanian (male)

   (male person from Labëri (“land of lab”), Labëria (“the land of lab”))

• Labëri
• Labëria
• labërisht
• Labërishtja
• arbër

Cognate of Swedish labb (“paw”).

lab c (singular definite labben, plural indefinite labber)

1. paw

lab

1. imperative of labbe

• labo

Clipping of laboratorium.

• Audio:

  (file)

lab n (plural labs, diminutive labje n)

1. (Netherlands) lab

Cognate with Burmese လှုပ် (hlup).

lab

1. to move; to stir.

• Dr. Ola Hanson, A Dictionary of the Kachin Language (1906).

lab

1. wing

• Rhymes: -abi
• Hyphenation: lab

lab m (plural labs)

1. (chiefly university slang) clipping of laboratório (“lab”)
   • 2007 October, Joseli Schwambach, “AGRADECIMENTOS”, in Rizogênese adventíca em Eucalyptus globulus Labill e Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh, Porto Alegre: UFRGS, unnumbered page:

     Muito do que foi feito aconteceu com a ajuda de vocês (seja lavando vidros no lab, buscando plantas no horto ou ouvindo minhas reclamações e idéias).

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Borrowed from Persian لاف (lâf). Cognate to Gagauz and Turkish laf, Turkmen lāp.

• (Xunhua, Qinghai; Ili, Xinjiang) IPA^(key): /lɑb/

lab (3rd person possessive labı, plural lablar)

1. boasting, bragging, airy talk

   Bar vose lab vur vomes, yox vose gıñnan vomes.

   You shouldn't brag when you are rich, you shouldn't be ashamed of being poor.

• 林 (Lin), 莲云 (Lianyun) (1992), “lab”, in 撒拉汉汉撒拉词汇 [Salar-Chinese, Chinese-Salar Vocabulary], 成都: 四川民族出版社, →ISBN, page 54
• Yakup, Abdurishid (2002), “lab”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon‎^[3], Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 138
• 进锋张 [Ayso Cañ Cinfen] (2008), 乌璐别格 [Ulubeğ], 鄭初陽 [Çuyañ Yebey oğlı Ceñ], editors, 撒拉尔谚语 [Salar İbret Sözler, Salar Proverbs]‎^[4], China Salar Youth League, page 58

• Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “lab”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 169
• 马伟 (Ma Wei) (2016), “lab”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages ​​- Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 青海师范大学 (Qinghai Normal University), Unpublished finalized project manuscript (国家社会科学基金项目结项稿, 定稿; National Social Science Fund of China), page 46

• IPA^(key): /ˈlab/ [ˈlaβ̞]
• Rhymes: -ab
• Syllabification: lab

lab m (plural labs)

1. lab (laboratory)

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /laːp˧/
• Tone numbers: lab⁸
• Hyphenation: lab

From Chinese 蠟 (MC lap, “wax; candle”).

lab (Sawndip forms 曪 or 腊, 1957–1982 spelling lab)

1. candle

From Chinese 臘 (MC lap, “cured meat”).

lab (Sawndip forms 曪 or 腊, 1957–1982 spelling lab)

1. to cure (meat) by drying or smoking

lab (Sawndip forms 曪 or 腊, 1957–1982 spelling lab)

1. cured; dried; smoked