lucubrate

intr.v., -brat·ed, -brat·ing, -brates.
To write in a scholarly fashion; produce scholarship.

[Latin lūcubrāre, lūcubrāt-, to work at night by lamplight.]

(LOO-kyoo-brayt)

verb intr.
To work (such as study, write, discourse) laboriously or learnedly.

Etymology
Here's a word that literally encapsulates the idiom "to burn the midnight oil". It's derived from Latin lucubrare (to work by lamplight), from lucere (to shine). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk- (light) that's resulted in other words such as lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, translucent, lux, and lynx

Usage
"So MPs have voted to lucubrate less. To lucubrate fewer? To sit for fewer midnight hours. To work less antisocial hours. To have less/fewer late nights." — Philip Howard; Less is More Prevalent http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article820049.ece ; The Times (London, UK); Nov 1, 2002.

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verb

To apply one's mind to the acquisition or production of knowledge: con, study. See teach/learn.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has one meaning:

Meaning #1: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
  Synonyms: elaborate, expatiate, exposit, enlarge, flesh out, expand, expound, dilate

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