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earnest

ear·nest

UK/ˈɜː.nɪst/ US/ˈɝ.nɪst/ uncommon archaic
adjective (3) noun (1)

adjective

1.

characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions

  • “both sides were deeply in earnest, even passionate”
  • “an entirely sincere and cruel tyrant”
  • “a film with a solemn social message”
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2.

earnest

  • “one”
  • “;”
  • “;”
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3.

not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal

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noun

1.

something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract

Origin

From Middle English ernest, eornest, from Old English eornest, eornost, eornust (“earnestness, zeal, seriousness, battle”), from Proto-Germanic *ernustuz (“earnest, strength, solidity, struggle, fight”), a derivative of Proto-Germanic *arniz (“efficient, capable, diligent, sure”), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to cause to move, arouse, increase”). Cognate with West Frisian earnst (“earnest, seriousness”), Dutch ernst (“seriousness, gravity, earnest”), German Ernst (“seriousness, earnestness, zeal, vigour”), Icelandic ern (“brisk, vigorous”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌽𐌹𐌱𐌰 (arniba, “secure, certain, sure”). The adjective is from Middle English eornest, from Old English eornoste (“earnest, zealous, serious”), from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian ernste (“earnest”), Middle Low German ernest, ernst (“serious, earnest”), German ernst (“serious, earnest”).

Phrases

  • in earnest

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.