diffidence

English

Etymology

From Latin diffīdentiam (“distrust”), from diffīdere (“to mistrust”), from dis- and fīdere (“to trust”). Attested since ∼1400. The original sense was antonymous with confidence, and the modern sense of ‘distrusting oneself’ dates from the 1650s.[1]

Pronunciation

  • enPR: dĭf′ĭ-dəns, dĭf′ĭ-dĕns″
  • IPA(key): /ˈdɪfɪdəns/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Hyphenation: dif‧fi‧dence

Noun

diffidence (countable and uncountable, plural diffidences)

  1. The state of being diffident, timid or shy; reticence or self-effacement.
    • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 15, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:
      Without scruple—without apology—without much apparent diffidence, Mr. Elton, the lover of Harriet, was professing himself her lover.
    • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC:
      My father was in the meantime overjoyed and in the bustle of preparation only recognized in the melancholy of his niece the diffidence of a bride.
    • 1857, Brigham Young, Journal of Discources: Attention and Reflection Necessary to An Increase of Knowledge, etc.:
      I have the same diffidence in my feelings that most public speakers have, and am apt to think that others can speak better and more edifying than I can.
    • 1897, William Henry Bishop, transl., Cleto's Proposal to Sotileza, translation of original by José María de Pereda:
      "I was passing by," he began to stammer, trembling with his diffidence, "I—happened to be passing along this way, and so—er—as I was passing this way, I says to myself, says I, 'I'll just stop into the shop a minute.'
    • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
      And Rick with unwonted diffidence had accepted his exclusion. Now with the same diffidence he came, looking trim and loving and mysteriously humble.
  2. (obsolete) Mistrust, distrust, lack of confidence in someone or something.
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰeydʰ- (0 c, 80 e)

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “diffidence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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