Did You Know?
Judges presiding over assizes (former periodical sessions of the superior courts in English counties) had to be assiduous in assessing how to best address their cases. Not only were their efforts invaluable, but they also served as a fine demonstration of the etymologies of "assiduous," "assess," and "assize." All three of those words derive from the Latin verb "assidēre," which is variously translated as "to sit beside," "to take care of," or "to assist in the office of a judge." "Assidēre," in turn, is a composite of the prefix "ad-" (in this case, meaning "near" or "adjacent to") and "sedēre," meaning "to sit."
