Diligence
/ˈdɪl.ɪ.dʒəns/noun
Careful and persistent effort in doing something.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin *diligere*, which originally meant “to esteem highly” or “choose with care,” so diligence was once as much about devotion as effort.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leg-
“to gather, pick out, choose”
Latin
Latin
legere
“to gather, select, read”
Latin
Latin
diligere
“to esteem highly, love, choose with care”
Old French
Old French
diligence
“carefulness, earnestness; also dispatch or speed”
Middle English
English
diligence
“careful attention, persistent effort”
Modern English
English
diligence
“steady, careful effort and persistence”
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