diffident

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English diffident,^[2] borrowed from Latin diffīdēns (“distrustful, lacking in confidence”), the present participle of diffīdō (“to mistrust”),^{[3][4][5][2][6]} formed from dis- (“away, apart”), here dif-, and fīdō (“to trust”),^[4][7][6] from Proto-Indo-European *bheidh- (“to trust, confide, persuade”).^[4][7] The OED compares Middle French diffident, in an isolated record of about 1460, and Italian diffidente, from before 1347, both meaning lacking in trust or faith.^[3] The Latin verb is related to fidēs, the source of faith,^[8] and to bide,^[6][5] and the OED compares the antonym confident.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lacking in trust or faith, or lacking in confidence in something: before 1460, in Knyghthode and Bataile.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The word first looked outward: a diffident person distrusted others or doubted some outside power.^[4][3] That sense can be seen in Shakespeare's related noun, in King John: "wound her honour with this diffidence".^[9] From there it turned inward, to distrust of oneself, and hence to shyness.^[9][4] The revised OED records this self-doubting sense from 1606, in P. Holland's Suetonius,^[3] much earlier than the date of 1713, in Addison's Cato, that Barnhart and Etymonline give,^[5][4] or the early 18th century in the Shorter Oxford.^[10] Johnson (1755) defined it as "not confident; not certain; distrustful",^[11] and his quotations cover both distrust of oneself and distrust of others.^[11] In the 1773 edition he listed "distrustful; doubting others" separately.^[11] The older sense is now archaic or rare,^[6][10] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged adds that the word can also describe a modest reserve.^[6] The related noun diffidence is older still, before 1400 according to Barnhart.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1460 – lacking in trust or faith; doubting.^[3][2][5]
• 1606 – lacking in self-confidence; timid, shy.^[3] Barnhart and Etymonline date this to 1713.^[5][4]
• 1617 – noun, the diffident, diffident people as a class.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lacking confidence in oneself; shy or timid: He was a diffident newcomer who rarely spoke at meetings.^[12][6][3]
2. Showing modest reserve or hesitation: She gave a diffident shrug and looked away.^[6][3]
3. (archaic) Lacking trust; distrustful or doubtful.^[6][10][3]

Noun

1. the diffident: diffident people as a class.^[3]

Word family

• diffidently
• diffidentness
• undiffident

Related words

• diffidence
• confident
• faith
• bide
• fidelity

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
10. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins