Diligent

How to spell diligent

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce diligent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does diligent mean?

1. adjectiveShowing careful, persistent effort and attention in work or duties.

Diligent in a sentence

• A diligent accountant double-checks every figure before filing the return.

• The committee praised her diligent research into the contract terms.

Where does diligent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb diligere, which literally meant 'to single out by choosing' and so came to mean 'to value highly, to esteem, to love'. It was built from dis-, meaning 'apart', and legere, meaning 'to choose or to gather', the same root that lies behind 'select' and 'elect'. Its present participle diligens described someone who acts with the careful attentiveness of a person who truly cares about a task, which is how the sense shifted toward 'painstaking' and 'industrious'. English took the word through Old French diligent in the 1300s, keeping both the spelling and the idea of devoted, conscientious effort. Remembering that the middle holds the 'choosing' root legere can help fix the single l and the soft g in the spelling.

How the word is built

• di- (from dis-, apart)
• lig (from legere: to choose, pick)
• -ent (adjective suffix)