industrious
[ in-duhs-tree-uhs ]
/ ɪnˈdʌs tri əs /
adjective
working energetically and devotedly; hard-working; diligent: an industrious person.
Obsolete. skillful.
RELATED CONTENT
Foxy, Catty, Fishy: Are These Traits For Animals Or Humans?Catty It seems horribly unfair to adorable cats that catty is a human descriptor meaning “devious or spiteful” (and usually in reference to female behavior). What gives? The word cat has been around since the year 700. But then, in the Middle Ages, cat became one of the many offensive terms against women and was slang for “prostitute.” The association might have been made because …
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- industrialist,
- industrialization,
- industrialize,
- industrialized,
- industrials,
- industriously,
- industry,
- industrywide,
- indwell,
- indwelling
Origin of industrious
1525–35; < Middle French industrie “cleverness, skill,” from Old French industrie “contrivance, device,” from Latin industrius “diligent, assiduous”; equivalent to indo-, by-form of in-in-2 + -struus, noun derivative of struere “to arrange, devise, build”
SYNONYMS FOR industrious
Synonym study
1. See busy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for industriously
industrious
/ (ɪnˈdʌstrɪəs) /
adjective
hard-working, diligent, or assiduous
an obsolete word for skilful
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
industrious
"characterized by energy, effort, and attention," 1520s (implied in industriously), from Middle French industrieux and directly from Late Latin industriosus, from Latin industria (see industry). Retains the etymological sense. Related: Industriousness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper