sedulous |ˈsejələs|adjective(of a person or action) showing dedication and diligence: he watched himself with the most sedulous care.DERIVATIVESsedulity |səˈjoōlitē| nounsedulously adverbsedulousness nounORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin sedulus ‘zealous’+ -ous .
I came across this word re-listening to The Scottish Prisoner. I've been very busy lately with cover designs, and those long hours in the company of Photoshop are great for audiobooks. I've been listening to the Lord John Grey series out of order, The Custom of the Army last, and since the events within lead to those of the other book, a re-listen seemed in order.
I had a serious reading problem when young. I often took a book from my mother's shelf, open it in the middle, just to see it was any good, and was unable to put it down. Thus, I rushed through the book first from middle to end, then again right away from beginning to end, then about a week later again, this time slowly, savoring every word. I guess, you could've called me a sedulous reader.
This is one of those words which I understand when I read (or hear) it, but never use myself and am always surprised to come across. It sounds as though it should mean something else!
ReplyDeleteI love audiobooks for tasks which don't occupy me completely. I also like the Lord John Grey books, although I cannot get into the whole Outlander books at all. I read a stinging review of the first one the other day which identified some of my problems with it, including how inconsistent and annoying Claire is. It makes me wonder whether the legions of fans are just in love with Jamie (like Lord John).
I totally agree with you on the word--it has a wet and slippery feel, should have a sultrier meaning.
DeleteI adore Lord John and warmed up to Jamie in the end, but I'm feeling averse to the main story line. Gabaldon's sweeping writing style would be hard to take if you disliked the narrator.
I don't think I've ever seen this one before!
ReplyDelete