Word of the Day

Sunday December 20, 2009

sedulous [SEJ-uh-luhs]

adjective

Diligent in application or pursuit; constant, steady, and persevering in business, or in endeavors to effect an object; steadily industrious; assiduous; as, the sedulous bee.

But even back then I knew that all such chains could be divided into two categories: There was In-N-Out, and there was everybody else. The In-N-Out cult -- is there any other word for it? -- is rooted in its patrons' appreciation for its simple menu and its sedulous devotion to fresh, high-quality ingredients.

Michael Hiltzik, "Keeping change off the menu", Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2009
n her sedulous style, Angwin recounts how DeWolfe and Anderson chafed at the demands of News Corp. as their creation became ever more unpredictable and unruly. But corporate infighting is only so interesting, and the book ends in May 2008, a year too soon. Facebook has since surpassed MySpace as the dominant social network.

Michael Agger, "Dude, Murdoch Friended Us!", New York Times Book Review, Apr 19, 2009
Except Great Expectations, none of his later tales rivals in merit his early picaresque stories of the road, such as Pickwick and Nicholas Nickleby. "Youth will be served;" no sedulous care could compensate for the exuberance of "the first sprightly runnings."

Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912) A Scottish poet, novelist, and literary critic. The Puzzle of Dickens's Last Plot (1905)

Origin of the Word

Sedulous approximtely 1540, derives from Satin sedulus "attentive, painstaking," probably from sedulo (adv.) "sincerely, diligently," from sedolo "without deception or guile," from se- "without, apart" + dolus "deception, guile."