Labradorn.
/ˈlabrədɔː/, U.S. /ˈlæbrəˌdɔr/ I. Compounds.
1. In names of plants.
a. Labrador tea n. a kind of tea made from the aromatic leaves of any of several North American rhododendrons ( Rhododendron tomentosum, R. groenlandicum, and R. columbianum); (also) any of these plants.These plants were formerly included in the genus Ledum.
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the world > food and drink > drink > tea manufacture > [noun] > tea substitutes
Indian tea1709
Appalachian tea1728
Arabian tea1728
Carolina tea1728
golden rod tea1728
Paraguay1728
South Sea tea1728
sweet tea1728
Oswego tea1752
false tea1760
New Jersey tea1760
Labrador tea1767
mountain tea1785
manuka1832
Abyssinian tea1866
Brazil tea1866
Hudson's Bay tea1948
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > tea-plant > [noun] > types of
herb of Paraguay1672
Indian tea1709
Algerian tea1728
Appalachian tea1728
Arabian tea1728
Canary tea1728
golden rod tea1728
Malay tea1728
Paraguay1728
South Sea tea1728
monarda1752
Oswego tea1752
Paraguay tea1760
Labrador tea1767
maté1768
marsh rosemary1777
blue mountain tea1785
alstonia1806
Ceylon tea1814
Canada tea1817
yerba-maté1818
honey bush1840
Wild Bergamot1843
Hottentot tea1850
kaffir tea1850
khat1858
Brazil tea1866
Mexican tea1866
St. Helena tea1875
rooibos1915
redbush1946
Hudson's Bay tea1948
bergamot1958
1767 St. James's Chron. 31 Dec. 3/1 The Use of Hyperion or Labradore Tea, is every Day coming into more general Vogue among People of all ranks.
1784 M. Cutler Jrnl. 24 July in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 103 Large beds of what is called the Labrador tea, of a very aromatic taste and smell.
1882 Garden 29 Apr. 286/2 Labrador Tea..is really a good and distinct hardy bush.
1969 H. Horwood Newfoundland i. 2 The eyes of a mouse peeped from a thicket of Labrador tea.
2014 E. Small N. Amer. Cornucopia lvii. 423 Astringent (mouth-puckering) tannins are present in Labrador tea.
b. Labrador pine n. now rare the jack pine Pinus banksiana, native to northern parts of North America.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > pine > types of
bog fir1770
ocote1787
Georgia pine1796
Labrador pine1803
pumpkin pine1809
Banksian pine1831
bog-pine1842
tamarack pine1843
tamarack1864
Baltic pine1866
Norway pine1866
slash-pine1882
Queensland kauri1889
krummholz1908
fat-wood1909
1803 A. B. Lambert Descr. Genus Pinus I. 7 Labradore Pine... Habitat in Americâ Septentrionali.
1890 Daily Gaz. & Bull. (Williamsport, Pa.) 17 Jan. He says the trees were bare and brown,..and as budless as a Labrador pine.
1987 Animal Behaviour 35 1387 The herons nested..near the tops of black spruce..and Labrador pine, Pinus divaricata.
2. In names of minerals and their attributes.
a. Labrador stone n. now rare (a specimen of) the mineral labradorite; = Labrador spar n. at sense 2d. [Compare French pierre de Labrador (1783), labrador (1803 in this sense), and German Labradorstein (see labradorite n.).]
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the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > feldspar > plagioclase > labradorite
Labrador stone1779
Labrador1786
Labrador feldspar1794
Labrador spar1799
labradorite1814
silicite1843
1779 P. Woulfe in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 69 23 The Labradore stone is also a Feld spar.
1811 J. Pinkerton Petralogy I. 159 The beautiful opalised kind of felspar, called Labrador stone.
1993 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 16 Jan. 15 I use all stones..but I love unusual ones like Chrysoprase (favoured by Cleopatra), green garnets or Labrador stones from Mexico.
b. Labrador feldspar n. the mineral labradorite; = Labrador spar n. at sense 2d.
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the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > feldspar > plagioclase > labradorite
Labrador stone1779
Labrador1786
Labrador feldspar1794
Labrador spar1799
labradorite1814
silicite1843
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. 324 Labradore Felspar of Werner.
1855 D. Brewster Mem. Life I. Newton (new ed.) I. viii. 185 The colours of Labrador felspar, and of precious and hydrophanous opal, which we have shewn to be produced by thin plates and minute pores and tubes.
1958 W. S. Fyfe et al. Metamorphic Reactions & Metamorphic Facies 169 It is perhaps significant that Rosenqvist used Labrador feldspar as starting material.
c. Labrador hornblende n. now rare a mineral of the pyroxene group resembling hornblende; = enstatite n.
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the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > inosilicates single chain > [noun] > pyroxene > other pyroxenes
asbestos1608
baikalite1794
basaltin1794
Labrador hornblende1794
coccolite1801
omphacite1821
jeffersonite1822
lherzolite1823
hudsonite1842
chladnite1850
funkite1850
picrophyll1854
lavrovite1868
breislakite1869
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. 221 Labradore Hornblende.
1884 Observ. Geol., Mineral., Zool. & Bot. Labrador Coast (Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. & Museum Canada) 12 Paulite, a variety of pyroxene or hypersthene, which has also been called ‘Labrador hornblende’ and ‘metalloidal diallage’.
1983 Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 47 422/2 A similar interpretation is also considered appropriate for the Labrador hornblende results.
d. Labrador spar n. a mineral of the plagioclase feldspar group, sometimes showing blue iridescence, found in many igneous rocks; = labradorite n.
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the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > feldspar > plagioclase > labradorite
Labrador stone1779
Labrador1786
Labrador feldspar1794
Labrador spar1799
labradorite1814
silicite1843
1799 W. Tooke View Russ. Empire I. 121 If we except..window-mica, and a little labrador spar.
1844 R. W. Emerson Ess. 2nd Ser. ii. 62 A man is like a bit of Labrador spar, which has no lustre as you turn it in your hand, until you come to a particular angle; then it shows deep and beautiful colors.
1906 L. Claremont Gem-cutter's Craft xxiv. 263 The labrador spar only displays the brilliant flashes of colour when similarly treated.
2008 J. Fritscher Gay San Francisco (front matter) The reader..can turn the text like a chunk of Labrador spar to see the facets.
e. Labrador blue n. a tint of blue like that reflected from labradorite; often attributive; cf. Labrador spar n. at sense 2d.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > blue or blueness > [noun] > other blues
blue-green1659
water blue1723
king's blue1778
garter-blue1792
smalt-blue1794
pencil blue1815
stone-bluea1855
azuline1864
night-blue1868
canard1872
Labrador blue1873
electric1882
chasseur-blue1900
cornflower1907
petrol blue1913
larkspur1927
petrol1927
flow-blue1961
1873 tr. A. Petermann in 3rd Suppl. Papers Eastern & Northern Extension Gulf Stream (U.S. Hydrographic Office) 25 The temperature of the beautiful Labrador-blue water fell at the surface from 46°.4 to 39°.2.
1914 Dry Goods Economist 4 July 5/2 Labrador blue, a rather soft blue midway between a dark staple and a Copenhagen.
1999 D. Crombie Kissed Sad Goodbye (2001) ii. 16 She'd painted the outside a color called Labrador Blue and picked out the trim in white.
3. In names of animals.
a. Labrador dog n. a breed of medium-large short-coated retriever with a black, yellow, or dark brown coat, originally developed in Newfoundland and popular as a gun dog or guide dog; a dog of this breed; = Labrador retriever n. at sense 3d.There was early confusion with the Newfoundland breed, which actually originated in Labrador (see sense 6).In later use probably often showing an attributive use of sense 6 rather than the place name.Labrador retriever is now the approved name for this breed.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > Labrador
Labrador dog1815
Labrador retriever1845
Labrador1848
yellow1880
Lab1925
1815 Missionary Reg. May 234 They give notice by howling, (for a Labrador Dog never barks), jumping, and every possible expression of delight.
1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes (1857) 7 Some of the Newfoundland dogs in this country are the finest I have ever seen—much larger and handsomer than the true Labrador dog.
1911 Addr. Canad. Club of Ottawa 1910 46 The Labrador dog will still eat you if you don't give him anything else to eat.
1966 La Crosse (Wisconsin) Tribune 29 July 10/6 Tehan is happy in his new venture and enjoys the company of his Labrador dog, Blu.
2015 Liverpool Echo (Nexis) 8 Sept. 11 They saw her walking her two Labrador dogs and carrying full bags of shopping.
b. Labrador duck n. a North American sea duck which bred formerly in Labrador, Camptorhynchus labradorius, the male having black and white plumage.The Labrador duck became extinct some time after 1870.
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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > unspecified and miscellaneous types of
Roan duck1763
wood-duck1777
Rouen1785
lady1792
stranger1792
Rouen duck1795
tree-duck1824
Labrador duck1834
hareld1841
whio1847
pink-eyed duck1848
penguin duck1850
topknot duck1850
Aylesbury1854
roan1854
pink-eye1861
Peking duck1874
runner1878
bluebill1884
Steller's (eider) (duck)1884
Peking1885
half-bird1893
torrent-duck1899
1834 T. Nuttall Man. Ornithol. U.S. & Canada: Water Birds 429 The length of the Labrador Duck is about 20 inches.
1885 Standard Nat. Hist. IV. 151 The Labrador duck..is now extinct, or at least very nearly so.
1939 Techn. Bull. (U.S. Dept. Agric.) No. 643. 87 All of the typical sea ducks, particularly those closely related to the Labrador duck, feed to a considerable extent on the common edible mussel.
1970 S. Trueman Intimate Hist. New Brunswick xi. 144 Some seafowl, like the Labrador duck..had become either extremely scarce, or extinct over the years.
2015 W. G. Camp & B. Heath-Camp Managing Nat. Resources (ed. 6) v. 326 The Labrador duck became extinct before anyone realized it was gone.
c. Labrador falcon n. a gyrfalcon, Falco rusticolus, of a very dark morph found in Labrador.Formerly considered a separate species.
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the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > [noun] > family Falconidae > genus Falco (falcon) > falco rusticolus (gyrfalcon)
gyrfalconc1330
gyrkin1539
Iceland falcon1758
Icelander1777
Greenland falcon1784
Labrador falcon1839
1839 J. J. Audubon Synopsis Birds N. Amer. 15 Falco Islandicus... Iceland or Jer Falcon—Gyr Falcon. Labrador Falcon.
1877 Zoologist 1 79 Ridgway..classes the Greenland Falcon (Falco candicans) and the Labrador Falcon (Falco Labradorus) under the head of one species, which he calls Falco sacer of Forster.
1902 R. Lydekker Libr. Nat. Hist. IV. 1942 It [sc. the Norway gerfalcon] is replaced on the Labrador coast by the still darker Labrador falcon.
2012 A. Hempstead Moon Handbks. Atlantic Canada 140/2 The print of a Labrador falcon downstairs was a gift to McCulloch from artist-naturalist John James Audubon.
d. Labrador retriever n. a breed of medium-large short-coated retriever with a black, yellow, or dark brown coat, popular as a gun dog or guide dog; a dog of this breed; = Labrador dog n. at sense 3a.In later use probably often showing an attributive use of sense 6 rather than the place name.Now the approved name for this breed.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > Labrador
Labrador dog1815
Labrador retriever1845
Labrador1848
yellow1880
Lab1925
1845 New Sporting Mag. Feb. 85 A first-rate water spaniel or Labrador retriever should be an inseparable companion.
1871 Exchange & Mart 1 Mar. 269/2 (advt.) Black Labrador retriever, about 9 months old, over distemper, very active and well bred.
1971 C. Fick Danziger Transcript (1973) 155 Finding out..whether he liked Brahms, silk pajamas, Labrador retrievers and such.
2015 Time Out London 20 Oct. 10 The most popular dog in all of west London is the labrador retriever.
e. Labrador twister n. North American regional the American woodcock, Scolopax minor.
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the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Scolopacidae (snipes, etc.) > [noun] > member of genus Scolopax (woodcock) > scolopax minor
woodcockc1050
wood-snitec1050
timber-doodle1842
Labrador twister1877
wood-snipe1887
1877 H. D. Minot Land-birds & Game-birds New Eng. 405 Those very small wiry, compactly feathered, weather-tanned birds [sc. woodcock], who appear in October and who are called, perhaps locally, Labrador twisters.
1974 W. G. Tapply in F. Woolner Compl. Bk. Woodcock Hunting Foreword p. viii They've [sc. woodcock] been called Labrador twisters and mud bats because of their erratic flight.
2009 C. Johnson & J. A. Smith Wingshooter's Guide N. Dakota (new ed.) 45 Woodcock... Local names... Timberdoodle, becasse, Labrador twister, night partridge, big-headed snipe.
4. Labrador Current n. (the name of) a cold ocean current which flows southwards from the Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Baffin Island, continuing south along the coast of Labrador until it meets the warm Gulf Stream off Newfoundland.
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the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > current > [noun] > sea > specific
Gulf Stream1775
Agulhas Currenta1830
North Atlantic Drifta1830
Labrador Current1835
Japan current1865
Alaska Current1868
Kuroshiwo1885
Japanese current1926
1835 Naut. Mag. 4 679 A vigilant look-out should be kept by all those who may be near the track of icebergs, borne southward by the Labrador current.
1910 Encycl. Brit. II. 857/1 At this point the Gulf Stream water mixes with that from the Labrador current..and a drift current eastwards is set up.
1965 F. Russell Secret Islands (1966) vii. 116 I imagined the island..naked as a statue against the silent hiss of mist coming out of the Labrador Current.
2015 Telegram & Gaz. (Mass.) (Nexis) 23 Mar. a10 Greenland glaciers shed bergs that drift south along the Labrador Current and into the shipping lanes on the North Atlantic.
II. Simple uses
5. Labrador spar, labradorite. rare.
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the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > feldspar > plagioclase > labradorite
Labrador stone1779
Labrador1786
Labrador feldspar1794
Labrador spar1799
labradorite1814
silicite1843
1786 tr. J. R. Forster Hist. Voy. & Discov. North 321 From this is should seem, that these stones were Labrador—or glimmering spar.
1834 R. Allan Man. Mineral. 134 A grey felspar totally distinct from the species Labrador.
2005 M. Gaft et al. Mod. Luminescence Spectroscopy Minerals & Materials v. 158 In our study its emission maximum was changed from 403 nm in labrador to 410 nm in plagioclase.
6. A Labrador retriever.Quot. 1848 appears to be referring to the Newfoundland breed.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > Labrador
Labrador dog1815
Labrador retriever1845
Labrador1848
yellow1880
Lab1925
1848 R. L. Allen Domest. Animals viii. 208 There are two varieties [of the Newfoundland dog]: the large, used in the north, called the Labrador; and the smaller, more docile and intelligent, of the south, called the St. John's.
1902 Country Life 23 Aug. 238/2 The ears of the Labrador should be small and well set just at the corners of the skull.
1963 A. Smith Throw out Two Hands xix. 195 John arrived..with a remarkable collection of people, plus a black labrador who loathed nettles, and a rifle.
2011 Independent 16 Feb. (Viewspaper section) 11/4 Louise and her black Labrador, Luna, are currently tracking elusive pine martens in the wilds of Scotland.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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