a labour of love
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Work undertaken for the love of the thing, without regard to pay.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a labour of love” mean?
Work undertaken for the love of the thing, without regard to pay.
Is “a labour of love” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.