endeavor

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skinem
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endeavor

Postby skinem » Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:27 pm

en·deav·or
Pronunciation:
\in-ˈde-vər\
Function:verb

Inflected Form(s):
en·deav·ored; en·deav·or·ing\-v(ə-)riŋ\

Etymology:Middle English endeveren to exert oneself, from en- + dever duty — more at devoir

Date:15th century

transitive verb
1: archaic : to strive to achieve or reach
2: to attempt (as the fulfillment of an obligation) by exertion of effort <endeavors to finish the race>intransitive verb: to work with set purpose.

I guess I'm surprised to see that definition #1 is considered archaic...

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Slava
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Re: endeavor

Postby Slava » Tue Nov 30, 2010 4:37 pm

1: archaic : to strive to achieve or reach
2: to attempt (as the fulfillment of an obligation) by exertion of effort <endeavors to finish the race>intransitive verb: to work with set purpose.

I guess I'm surprised to see that definition #1 is considered archaic...
I agree with you on that one.

An interesting aside: here in the US we spell it as given above, with the Brits using their usual -our ending. However, the NASA space shuttle is called Endeavour.
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