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Definition of assiduous : showing great care, attention, and effort : marked by careful assiduous planning an assiduous book collector She tended her garden with assiduous attention. showing great care, attention, and effortmarked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application

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Other Words from assiduous assiduously adverb assiduousness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for assiduous busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous mean actively engaged or occupied. busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure. too busy to spend time with the children industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work. industrious employees diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit. very diligent in her pursuit of a degree assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application. assiduous practice sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application. a sedulous investigation of the murder

The History of Assiduous Assiduous came to English directly from the Latin assiduus, an adjective derived from the verb assidēre "to sit beside." To the ancient Romans, assiduus carried meanings ranging from “settled or rooted in place” to “constantly present” to “persistent, unremitting." This last sense was the one borrowed into English four hundred years ago and still used today, often in complimentary phrases such as "an assiduous student" and “assiduous efforts.” In the 18th century, the word took on a mildly pejorative meaning, "obsequious," when used of someone striving to please. This sense has largely passed out of use.

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."

First Known Use of assiduous circa 1552, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for assiduous Latin assiduus, from assidēre to sit beside

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More Definitions for assiduous assiduous adjective as·​sid·​u·​ous | \ ə-ˈsi-jə-wəs \ Kids Definition of assiduous : showing great care, attention, and effort They were assiduous in gathering evidence. Other Words from assiduous assiduously adverb

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