sedulous

English

WOTD – 27 April 2020

Etymology

From Latin sēdulus (“diligent, industrious, sedulous; solicitous; unremitting; zealous”) + English -ous. Sēdulus is probably derived from sēdulō (“diligently; carefully; purposely; zealously”) (possibly from sē- (prefix meaning ‘without’) + dolō (singular of dolus (“deceit, deception; evil intent, malice”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to count, reckon”))) + -us (suffix forming adjectives).[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛd͡ʒʊləs/, /ˈsɛdjʊ-/
Audio (RP) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛd͡ʒələs/
Hyphenation: se‧dul‧ous

Adjective

sedulous (comparative more sedulous, superlative most sedulous)

Of a person: diligent in application or pursuit; constant and persevering in business or in endeavours to effect a goal; steadily industrious.
Synonyms: assiduous; see also Thesaurus:industrious
- 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554, lines 25–29:
  Since firſt this Subject for Heroic Song / Pleaſ'd me long chooſing, and beginning late; / Not ſedulous by Nature to indite / Warrs, hitherto the onely Argument / Heroic deem'd, [...]
- 1764, [Oliver Goldsmith], “Letter XIX”, in An History of England, in a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to His Son, London: Printed for J[ohn] Newbery, […], OCLC 1013416377, page 137; republished London: Printed for T. Carnan and F[rancis] Newbery, Jun. […], 1772, OCLC 1103124624, page 141:
  His [Edward III of England's] parliament made frequent remonſtrances againſt this baſe oblivion of himſelf: the parliaments, at this time, were not as formerly, factions ready to oppreſs public liberty, but aſſemblies of wiſe and good men, ſedulous for common welfare, and of wiſdom equal to the rectitude of their intentions; [...]
- 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Hester and Pearl”, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, OCLC 223202227, page 212:
  She wondered what sort of herbs they were which the old man was so sedulous to gather.
- 1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter I, in The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, OCLC 32425523; republished Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, 1972 (1982 printing), →ISBN, part I, page 15:
  Leading the life I did, of the sedulous, strained nurse, I had to do something to keep myself fit.
- 1997, David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN:
  The pretty setting and glittering ship and dashing staff and sedulous servants and solicitous fun-managers all want something from me, and it’s not just the price of my ticket—they’ve already got that.
Of an activity: carried out with diligence.
- 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Nearer and More Immediate Causes of Popular Errours, […]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], OCLC 152706203, 1st book, page 14:
  Now as there are many great wits to be condemned, who have neglected the increment of Arts, and the ſedulous purſuit of knowledge; ſo are there not a few very much to be pittied, whoſe induſtry being not attended with naturall parts, they have ſweat to little purpoſe, and rolled the ſtone in vain.
- 1886, Francis A. Leyland, “The Rev. Patrick Brontë”, in The Brontë Family: With Special Reference to Patrick Branwell Brontë [...] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Hurst and Blackett, publishers, […], OCLC 62061964, page 55:
  Miss [Elizabeth] Branwell's affectionate regard for her dead sister's [Maria Branwell's] children caused her to take deep interest in everything relating to them, their health, the comfort and cleanliness of their home, and the sedulous culture of their minds.
- 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part II, XVII [Uniform ed., p. 169]:
  He had much to learn about boys, and he learnt not by direct observation—for which he believed he was unfitted—but by sedulous imitation of the more experienced masters.
- 2001, Michael Pollan, “Desire: Intoxication/Plant: Marijuana”, in The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 135; republished New York, N.Y.: Random House, 2014, →ISBN:
  With the right equipment, an indoor grower could create a utopia for his plants, an artificial habitat more perfect than any in nature, and his happy, happy weeds would respond. These sedulous attentions would be wasted on male plants, which are worse than useless in sinsemilla production.
- 2010 March 9, Paul Routledge, “Scotland is turning into another country … loch, stock and barrel”, in Daily Mirror‎, London: Reach plc, ISSN 0307-0204, OCLC 223228477:
  The Scots have always been a fiercely independent people, but it surprised me how far this sedulous process of separation has gone already.

Derived terms

sedulously
sedulousness

Related terms

sedulity

Translations

of a person: diligent in application or pursuit

Bulgarian: усърден (bg) (usǎrden)
Dutch: onverdroten (nl)
Finnish: väsymätön (fi)
French: assidu (fr), diligent (fr), persévérant (fr), zélé (fr)
German: eifrig (de), emsig (de), gewissenhaft (de)
Ido: zelanta, zeloza (io)
Italian: diligente (it), meticoloso (it), solerte (it)
Japanese: 勤勉な (kinbenna), せっせと働く (sessetohataraku)
Latin: sēdulus
Romanian: asiduu (ro), perseverent (ro), stăruitor (ro)
Russian: приле́жный (ru) (priléžnyj), стара́тельный (ru) (starátelʹnyj), упо́рный (ru) (upórnyj), усе́рдный (ru) (usérdnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: dùrachdach
Swedish: flitig (sv), oförtruten (sv), trägen (sv)

of an activity: carried out with diligence

Bulgarian: прилежен (bg) (priležen)

References

Compare “sedulous, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1911; “sedulous, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.