Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “diligently” come from?

Diligently comes from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, and Latin diligens, the past participle of diligere meaning to esteem or value highly, ultimately from Latin lego meaning to choose or gather.

diligently (English): In a diligent manner, with appropriate effort,...

Definitions

  1. In a diligent manner, with appropriate effort,...

Ancestry of “diligently”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdiligentPerforming with industrious concentration;...
2Middle Englishdiligent—
3Old Frenchdiligent—
4Latindīligēns—
5Latindīligō—
6Latinlegō—
7Latinlēx—
8Proto-Italiclēg-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →