diligencen.1
/ˈdɪlɪdʒəns/ The quality of being diligent.† 2. † b. A ‘company’ of messengers. Obsolete.† 3. † b. with plural. Obsolete.
1. † b. Assiduity in service; persistent endeavour to please; officiousness. Obsolete.† c. with a and plural: an act of diligence; plural labours, exertions, diligent efforts. Obsolete.† d. One in whom the quality is personified; a diligent person.Apparently an isolated use.† e. Phrases. to put diligence, to do one's diligence, to do one's utmost endeavour, to exert oneself. to report one's diligence, to report what one has done, to report progress. Obsolete or archaic.
a. Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent application and endeavour; industry, assiduity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [noun] > studious care or diligence
yernfulnesseOE
swinkfulnessOE
diligencec1374
applying?c1430
diligencya1513
diligentness1530
sedulity1542
application1543
assiduity1605
sedulousness1622
navity1623
assiduousness1637
intention1638
apply1681
perdiligence1694
painstakingness1917
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 86 (135) With al my wit and al my deligence.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 37 As for thy diligence, Whiche every mannes conscience By reson shulde reule and kepe.
c1425 Wyntoun Cron. vi. iv. 74 To mak defens For hys Land wyth diligens.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 190 By the carefull toyle and diligence of the Bee.
1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 1 The extraordinary pains and diligence which you have us'd in this matter.
a1718 W. Penn Tracts in Wks. (1726) I. 908 Diligence is a discreet and understanding Application of one's self to Business.
1719 Free-thinker No. 89. 2 Manage Business with Regularity and Diligence.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 85. ⁋1 Many writers..have laid out their diligence upon the consideration of those distempers.
1871 E. F. Burr Ad Fidem viii. 130 Patient diligence the only sure key to Divine treasures.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [noun] > studious care or diligence > diligence in service
diligence1493
officiousness1596
assiduity1641
assidencea1656
attention1752
1493 Petronylla (Pynson) 142 To do servise with humble diligence Unto thy fader.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 60 Sum be service and diligence.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) v. iii. 9 This speedy and quicke appearance argues proofe Of your accustom'd diligence to me. View more context for this quotation
1664 J. Playford Brief Introd. Skill Musick (ed. 4) i. 61 Which sort of people we should endeavour to please with all diligence.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 387 Why shouldst thou then obtrude this diligence, In vain, where no acceptance it can find..? View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [noun] > instance of > an effort
diligence1443
enforcement1551
1443 King Henry VI Let. 17 Aug. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 79 By whos notable..labours and diligences it hath liked our Lord to shewe us his grete fauour.
1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Phil. iv. f. ix All them..that with their dilygences helpe forewarde the businesse of the gospell.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 314 Not suffering his men to discharge one volley..for that it seemed unto him a vaine diligence.
1652 J. Wadsworth tr. P. de Sandoval Civil Wars Spain 253 Whilest the Lord High Constable was making all these diligences, the Cardinal stole secretly out of Valladolid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [noun] > studious care or diligence > diligent person
diligencea1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 244 Ar. Was't well done? Pro. Brauely (my diligence) thou shalt be free. View more context for this quotation
ΚΠ
c1386 G. Chaucer Melibeus ⁋27 Whan thou hast for-goon thy freend, do diligence to gete another freend.
c1386 G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale 37 And nyght and day did euere his diligence Hir for to plese.
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 4 Þe same maistres & breþeren shul do her diligence trewly to redresse it.
1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 64v I shal put my peyn and dyligence to distroye the.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. vi. 30 They [kynges] doo their diligence to lerne such clergye & science.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. xviiiv Neuer wyse man loued..to haue great riches put ouer great diligence.
1539 Bible (Great) 1 Tim. iv. 9 Do thy diligence, that thou mayest come shortly vnto me.
1650 J. Row & J. Row Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1842) 208 That they be carefull to correct what they can, and report their diligence to the nixt Assemblie.
1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 143 I will doe my diligence.
a. Speed, dispatch, haste. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [noun] > expedition or dispatch
speedOE
diligence1490
expedition1529
dispatch1570
expedience1597
urgence1612
navity1623
expediteness1635
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxvi. 95 Yf thou departe not with all diligence thou shalt soone see the see alle couered with vesselles of werre commynge ayenst the.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxvij This phisician dyd not long lynger..but with good diligens repaired to the quene.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear v. 4 If your diligence be not speedie, I shall be there before you. View more context for this quotation
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 21 Posting on with such diligence that by darke night hee reached [etc.].
1703 N. Rowe Ulysses iv. i. 1415 With thy swiftest Diligence return.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. 41 His rival..fled before him with the diligence of fear.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > message > [noun] > messenger > body of
diligence1486
messageryc1500
1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj b A Diligens of Messangeris.
a. Careful attention, heedfulness, caution. to do or have diligence, to take care, take heed, beware; to take care of or about a thing, to look after it carefully. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [noun]
yemec893
carefulnessa1000
getec1175
gomec1175
tenta1300
curec1300
keepa1325
diligence1340
heed1357
tentivenessa1382
observancec1390
businessa1398
reasona1398
attendancec1400
resporta1413
curiosityc1430
mindingc1449
reckc1475
respect1509
regardshipa1513
looking unto1525
peradvertencea1529
looking toa1535
solicitudea1535
looking after?1537
solicitudeness1547
care1548
solicitnessc1550
caring1556
heedfulness1561
solicitateness1562
hofulness1566
regard1573
charishness1587
on-waiting1590
heediness1596
take-heed1596
respectiveness1598
observationa1616
solicitousness1636
heeding1678
curiousness1690
solicitation1693
attention1741
craftsmanship1850
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 238 Þeruore hi ssolle do greate payne and grat diligence wel to loki hare chastete.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Tim. iii. 5 If ony man kan not gouerne his hous, how schal he haue diligence of the chirche of God?
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 141 It is necessarie þat a surgian have more diligence in þe woundis of þe face.
1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton B v b Thou oughtest to take dyligence and cure of thy werkes.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. iv. C Kepe thine hert with all diligence.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 152v To keepe your Bacon any long time, you must vse great diligence in the saltyng and drying of it.
1587 L. Mascall Bk. Cattell: Horses (1627) 100 A horse doth aske a greater deligence to be meated and kept..then other cattell.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 47 Moscovy-glass..with care and diligence may be slit into pieces..exceeding thin.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc viii Thou wilt guard them with due diligence, Yet not forgetful of humanity.
ΚΠ
1675 M. Clifford Treat. Humane Reason in Phenix 1708 II. 530 Those necessary Diligences which are requir'd for so doubtful and dangerous a Passage.
4. Law. The attention and care due from a person in a given situation; spec. that incumbent upon the parties to a contract.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal obligation > [noun] > specific obligations
trimoda necessitasc975
diligence1622
nexum1886
no-right1913
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 407 The diligences which are requisite to bee done herein, are..to be obserued accordingly.
1781 W. Jones Ess. Law Bailments 16.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon (at cited word) The common law recognizes three degrees of diligence. (1) Common or ordinary..(2) High or great, which is extraordinary diligence..(3) Low or slight, which is that which persons of less than common prudence, or indeed of any prudence at all, take of their own concerns.
1875 E. Poste tr. Gaius Institutionum Iuris Civilis (ed. 2) 477 The opposite of Negligence is Diligence, vigilance, attention, which, like Negligence, admits of an infinite variety of gradations.
1875 E. Poste tr. Gaius Institutionum Iuris Civilis (ed. 2) 480 If the interests of the parties are not identical, the Roman law, at least, requires extraordinary diligence.
5. Scots Law. (a) The process of law by which persons, lands, or effects are attached on execution, or in security for debt. (b) The warrant issued by a court to enforce the attendance of witnesses, or the production of documents.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > legal seizure or recovery of property > [noun] > seizing lands or goods > attachment of person or property for debt
arresting1424
restc1500
diligence1568
personal diligence1700
personal executiona1768
1568 in Calderwood Hist. Kirk (1843) II. 426 The persons addebted for payment of the same being at the horne, and no further diligence used for obteaning of payment.
1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 37 Therefore, necessary it is for the Complainers to have our Warrant and Diligence for summoning the said C.D. to compear before Our Lords Justice-General.
1754 J. Erskine Princ. Law Scotl. I. i. ii. 12 In our supreme courts of Session and Exchequer, not only process, but execution of diligence runs in the name of the Sovereign.
1827 W. Scott Jrnl. 31 Oct. (1941) 123 Mr. Abud..has given the most positive orders to take out diligence against me for his debt of £1500.
1858 A. Polson Law & Lawyers 197 Witnesses are brought into Court upon a diligence.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
diligencen.2
/ˈdɪlɪdʒəns//diːliˈʒɒns/ a. A public stagecoach. (In later use only with reference to France or other continental European countries.)
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > public service vehicle > [noun] > stagecoach or mail coach
posting carriage1556
wagon1615
post-coach1636
stagecoach1658
flying coach1669
stage1671
wagon-coach1675
stage-wagon1681
post-car1694
post-wagon1694
post calash1703
fly1708
post-carriage1720
post-stage1738
diligence1742
flying machine1764
machine1769
mail coach1785
dilly1786
mail stage1792
high-flyer1799
post-equipage1813
post vehicle1815
tally-ho coach1831
mail packeta1837
flying carriage1849
stager1852
mail-hack1909
1742 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 2 May (1966) II. 276 Travell'd from Paris to Lyons in the Diligence.
1749 T. Nugent Grand Tour IV. 41 The Diligence is a kind of stage coach so called frem its expedition, and differs from the carosse or ordinary stage-coach, in little else but in moving with greater velocity. It is used chiefly in travelling from Paris to Lyons, and from Paris to Brussels.
1815 M. Birkbeck Notes Journey through France 17 From Rouen to Louviers we travelled by diligence.
1838 J. L. Stephens Incidents Trav. Greece, Turkey, Russia 62/1 We mounted a drosky and rode to the office of the diligence, which was situated in the Podolsk, or lower town.
1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect Long Life II. 207 When travelling..on the top of a Diligence, Turner sketched, on the back of a letter, Heidelberg.
ΚΠ
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xi. 76 I shall make my lord very merry with our adventures in the Diligence. [Satirically: it was a wagon.]
1776 J. Wesley Wks. (1830) IV. 90 I set out for Bedford in the diligence.
1780 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal i. i. 7 Her guardian caught her just stepping into the York Diligence, with her dancing-master.
1780 F. Burney Lett. 9 June If..possible to send me a line by the diligence to Brighton.
1782 Sir J. E. Smith in Mem. (1832) I. 55 We went in the diligence to Dumbarton.
1797 Papers on Reform of Posts App. ii. 3 The Diligence that sets out from Bath..on Monday afternoon, will deliver a letter on Tuesday morning.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 379 The interests of large classes had been unfavourably affected by the establishment of the new diligences.
c. Used for the passengers of a ‘diligence’. (Cf. coach n. 1b.)
ΚΠ
1887 J. Ruskin Præterita II. xi. 400 The hour when the diligence dined.
d. attributive.
ΚΠ
1861 Sat. Rev. 14 Dec. 607 Continuous diligence journey of three days and nights required to reach Madrid.
1866 A. I. Thackeray Village on Cliff in Cornhill Mag. 527 Catherine..looked out through the diligence windows at the château.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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