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diffident: msg#00005culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica. http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for November 6 is: diffident \DIF-uh-dunt\ adjective 1 : hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self- confidence *2 : reserved, unassertive Example sentence: Always diffident and soft-spoken, Tony did not raise any objection when the cashier overcharged him for his purchase. Did you know? "Diffident" and "confident" are antonyms, but both have a lot to do with how much trust you have in yourself. Etymology reveals the role that that underlying trust plays in the two terms. "Confident" and "diffident" both trace to the Latin verb "fidere," which means "to trust." "Diffident" arose from a combination of "fidere" and the prefix "dis-," meaning "the absence of," and it has been used to refer to individuals lacking in self-trust since the 15th century. "Confident" arose from "confidere," a term created by combining "fidere" with the intensifying prefix "con-." That term has been used for self- trusting souls since at least the late 16th century. By the way, "fidere" puts the trust in several other English words too, including "fidelity" and "fiduciary." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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