Word of the Day

: June 16, 2019

assiduous

adjective uh-SIJ-uh-wus

What It Means

: showing great care, attention, and effort : marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application

assiduous in Context

"Ryan Murphy …, in his last FX series before founding his Netflix empire, was also assiduous about hiring transgender actors and creative staff…." — James Poniewozik, The New York Times, 1 June 2018

"In conjunction with his efforts as a painter, Goya was an assiduous draftsman and printmaker. His first efforts at etching include … royal portraiture and grand subject paintings such as the Feast of Bacchus." — Michael A. Gibson, Jr. and Jessica Brandrup, NBCDFW.com (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas), 24 Oct. 2018

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 serve 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."