Etymograph

English

diligency

Diligency comes from Latin dīligēns ‘diligent, careful, attentive’, and goes back to dīligō ‘esteem, love’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīligō1‘esteem, love’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīligēns2‘diligent, careful, attentive’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīligentia3
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1644diligency3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin diligens
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin diligentia
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English diligency
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1644, John Milton, London: [s.n.]: “A little generous prudence , a little forbearance of…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīligōWiktionary, Latin diligens‘esteem, love’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīligēnsWiktionary, Latin diligentia‘diligent, careful, attentive’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīligentiaWiktionary, English diligency
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1644diligencyWiktionary, English diligency. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1644, John Milton, London: [s.n.]: “A little generous prudence , a little forbearance of…”

Linked words

through Latin dīligō ‘esteem, love’

predilection, 4 more

Today it means

noun diligence; carefulness

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “diligency”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin diligens, Latin diligentia. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin dīligō / diligency

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