The Word of the Day

sedulous \SEJ-uh-luss\ adjective
1 : involving or accomplished with careful perseverance
*2 : diligent in application or pursuit

Example sentence: Daphne was a sedulous student whose hard work and determination earned her a number of college scholarships.

Did you know? No fooling -- the word "sedulous" ultimately comes from the Latin "se dolus," which literally means "without guile." Those two words were eventually melded into one, "sedulo," meaning "sincerely" or "diligently," and from that root developed the Latin "sedulus" and the English "sedulous." Don't let the "sed-" beginning mislead you; "sedulous" is not related to words such as "sedentary" or "sedate" (which derive from the Latin verb "sedere," meaning "to sit"). "Sedulous" types are not the sedate or sedentary sort. They're the hardworking types Scottish author Samuel Smiles must have had in mind when he wrote in his 1859 book _Self-Help_, "Sedulous attention and painstaking industry always mark the true worker."