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diligence - 9 dictionary results

dil⋅i⋅gence

1  [dil-i-juhns]
Use diligence in a Sentence
–noun
1. constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.
2. Law. the degree of care and caution required by the circumstances of a person.
3. Obsolete. care; caution.
Origin:
1300–50; ME deligence (< AF) < L dīligentia, equiv. to dīligent- (s. of dīligēns) diligent + -ia; see -ence

dil⋅i⋅gence

2  [dil-i-juhns; Fr. dee-lee-zhahns]
–noun, plural -gen⋅ces  [-juhn-siz; Fr. -zhahns] .
a public stagecoach, esp. as formerly used in France.
Origin:
1735–45; short for F carosse de diligence speed coach
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dil·i·gence 1   (dĭl'ə-jəns)   
n.  
  1. Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking; steady effort; assiduity.
  2. Attentive care; heedfulness.
dil·i·gence 2   (dĭl'ə-jəns, dē'lē-zhäɴs')   
n.  A large stagecoach.

[French, from (carrosse de) diligence, speed (coach), from Old French, diligence, from Latin dīligentia, from dīligēns, dīligent-, diligent; see diligent.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Diligence

Dil"i*gence\, n. [F. diligence, L. diligentia.]

1. The quality of being diligent; carefulness; careful attention; -- the opposite of negligence.

2. Interested and persevering application; devoted and painstaking effort to accomplish what is undertaken; assiduity in service.

That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence. --Shak.

3. (Scots Law) Process by which persons, lands, or effects are seized for debt; process for enforcing the attendance of witnesses or the production of writings.

To do one's diligence, give diligence, use diligence, to exert one's self; to make interested and earnest endeavor.

And each of them doth all his diligence To do unto the fest['e] reverence. --Chaucer.

Syn: Attention; industry; assiduity; sedulousness; earnestness; constancy; heed; heedfulness; care; caution. -- Diligence, Industry. Industry has the wider sense of the two, implying an habitual devotion to labor for some valuable end, as knowledge, property, etc. Diligence denotes earnest application to some specific object or pursuit, which more or less directly has a strong hold on one's interests or feelings. A man may be diligent for a time, or in seeking some favorite end, without meriting the title of industrious. Such was the case with Fox, while Burke was eminent not only for diligence, but industry; he was always at work, and always looking out for some new field of mental effort.

The sweat of industry would dry and die, But for the end it works to. --Shak.

Diligence and accuracy are the only merits which an historical writer ascribe to himself. --Gibbon.

Diligence

Di`li*gence"\, n. [F.] A four-wheeled public stagecoach, used in France.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : diligence
Spanish: carruaje,
German: die Kutsche,
Japanese: ４輪馬車
More Translations »

diligence 
1340, from O.Fr. diligence "attention, care," from L. diligentia "attentiveness, carefulness," from diligentem (nom. diligens) "attentive, assiduous, careful," originally prp. of diligere "value highly, love, choose," from dis- "apart" + legere "choose, gather" (see lecture). Sense evolved from "love" through "attentiveness" to "carefulness" to "steady effort."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: dil·i·gence
Pronunciation: 'di-l&-j&ns
Function: noun
: earnest and persistent application of effort esp. as required by law; also : CARE 1 —see also DUE DILIGENCE
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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diligence

large, four-wheeled, closed French stagecoach employed for long journeys. It was also used in England and was popular in both countries in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Learn more about diligence with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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