endeavor means A sincere attempt; a determined or assiduous effort towards a specific goal; assiduous or persistent activity.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, endeavor ranks #1,386 of 25,264 for Qualifying.
endeavor is pronounced /ɪnˈdɛv.ə/.
Why “endeavor” is a great word
A determined and sustained effort to achieve a specific goal, from Middle English endevour (noun) and endeveren (verb), from the phrase (putten) in dever ('to put oneself in duty'), translating Middle French (se mettre) en devoir ('to make it one's duty'). Unlike a simple attempt, which suggests a single, initial probe, or to strive, which emphasizes a vigorous struggle, an endeavor is the sustained, dutiful application of oneself to a purpose. It is the cathedral rising stone by stone across generations, the scholar's decades-long revision of a single manuscript, the gardener's seasonal war against encroaching weeds—the quiet consecration of a self-imposed vow, where duty, more than inspiration, shapes the arc of achievement.
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English endeveren (“to make an effort”); the noun is from Middle English endevour, from the verb. Endeveren is from (putten) in dever (“(to put oneself) in duty”), from in + dever (“duty”), partially translating Middle French (se mettre) en devoir (de faire) (“(to make it) one's duty (to do), to endeavour (to do)”) (from Old French devoir, deveir (“duty”)).
noun
- A sincere attempt; a determined or assiduous effort towards a specific goal; assiduous or persistent activity.
verb
- To exert oneself.
- To attempt through application of effort (to do something); to try strenuously.
- To attempt (something).
- To work with purpose.
Words closest in meaning
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