diligent

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 7, 2011 is: diligent • \DIL-uh-junt\  • adjective : characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort : painstaking Examples: After many hours of diligent research, the students were finally ready to compile their results. "The mature members of the workforce are hard-working, diligent, responsible people." -- From an article by Casey Dowd at foxbusiness.com, November 10, 2011 Did you know? You're more likely to be diligent about something if you love doing it. The etymology of "diligent" reflects the fact that affection can lead to energetic effort. The word, which entered English in the 14th century by way of Anglo-French, descends from the Latin verb "diligere," meaning "to value or esteem highly" or "to love." Of course, you don’t need to care for the task at hand in order to be diligent, but it certainly does help! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.