noun
constant or close application or effort; diligence; industry.
Assiduity ultimately comes from the Latin noun 补蝉蝉颈诲耻颈迟腻蝉 (inflectional stem 补蝉蝉颈诲耻颈迟腻迟-) 鈥渃onstant presence or attendance, constant practice,鈥 a derivative of the adjective assiduus 鈥渟ettled, continued, persistent.鈥 Assiduus derives from the compound verb 补蝉蝉颈诲脓谤别 鈥渢o sit near, sit next to, pay attention to,鈥 formed from the preposition and prefix ad, ad– 鈥渢o, at, near鈥 and the simple verb 蝉别诲脓谤别 鈥渢o sit.鈥 The semantics of sitting and therefore paying close attention fits perfectly with the German noun Sitzfleisch (borrowed into English in the 19th century), which means 鈥渢he buttocks, (literally) sit-flesh,鈥 and by extension, the ability to sit for a long period of time and persevere in an activity. Assiduity entered English in the early 17th century.
鈥淚 really believe in working with youth, and particularly this age group 鈥 middle school 鈥 with respect and kindness and patience,鈥 Palla said. It鈥檚 an approach that takes assiduity, especially considering the volume of students that Cook and Palla oversee.
These disloyal thoughts came seldom, and she put them resolutely away, devoting herself with all the greater assiduity to her muslin curtains and ruffled pillow-shams.
plural noun
biographical data, personal reminiscences, or the like: He could never keep the personalia out of his essays.
Personalia is a noun use of the neuter plural form of the Latin adjective 辫别谤蝉艒苍腻濒颈蝉 鈥减别谤蝉辞苍补濒.鈥 笔别谤蝉艒苍腻濒颈蝉 is not very common in Latin, being restricted to the law, as in beneficium pers艒n膩le 鈥減ersonal benefit,鈥 and grammar, as in verbum pers艒n膩le 鈥減ersonal verb鈥 (that is, a verb with three persons in both numbers). The modern English sense of personalia is a New Latin sense that first appeared in the 19th century.
Simply for its pictures of that old life, for its vivid anecdote, for its riches of personalia, and for its manly tone, the narrative is readable and delightful to a wonderful degree.
But if the show is a bit hard to read (which is which?), the lavish catalog is a pleasure. With texts for each plate slyly sending up our fascination with personality and personalia, it is as engrossing as any new fiction.
noun
French.
an immediate estimate or judgment; understanding; insight.
础辫别谤莽耻, 鈥渁 hasty glance or glimpse; an insight; an outline or summary,鈥 is not at all naturalized in English, even retaining its French spelling (the cedilla under the c). 础辫别谤莽耻 is the past participle of the verb apercevoir 鈥渢o perceive, see, catch sight of,鈥 a compound of the prefix a– (from Latin ad– 鈥渢o,鈥 here indicating direction or tendency) and the Old French verb 辫别谤莽辞颈惫谤别 (Middle French, French percevoir), from Latin percipere 鈥渢o obtain, seize, gather (crops), collect (taxes).鈥 Percipere is a compound verb composed of the preposition and prefix per, per– 鈥渢hrough,鈥 here with an intensive meaning, and the simple verb capere 鈥渢o take, take hold of, seize, capture.鈥 础辫别谤莽耻 entered English in the first half of the 19th century.
I once heard an author of young adult fiction being asked what her novel was about, and instead of explaining its adventure plot or sophisticated science- fiction premise, she said: 鈥淜issing鈥. This was clearly self-deprecation, but it was also an聽补辫别谤莽耻 about the pleasure that draws readers to a huge array of books ….
Kottke has been an engaging, likable omnipresence on the scene for as long as it has existed, serving up a daily blend of clean-crafted personal 补辫别谤莽耻s and fresh, literate links to tech, pop, and political news that is as brisk and cozy as Folgers in your cup.