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# The BFD Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-bfd-word-of-the-day-469/
- Published: 2021-05-11T18:15:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-05-11T18:28:58.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: Gallery, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-17 02:14

The word for today is…

diffident (adjective) –

1 : hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence  
2 : reserved, unassertive  
3 : (archaic) : distrustful

Source : [Merriam -Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diffident?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : Diffident and confident are etymologically related antonyms, perched at opposite ends of a scale of self-assurance. Both words trace back to the Latin verb fidere, which means “to trust.” Diffident arose from a combination of fidere and the prefix dis-, meaning “the absence of”; it has been used to refer to individuals lacking in self-trust since the 15th century. Confident arose from confidere, a term created by combining fidere with the intensifying prefix con-. That term has been used for self-trusting folks since at least the late 16th century. Fidere puts the trust in several other English words too, including fidelity and fiduciary.

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