painstaking
extremely careful and with much effort
TRANSLATION
painstaking = äußerst sorgfältig und mühsam --- GOOGLE INDEX painstaking: approximately 6,800,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
A Canadian surgeon’s PAINSTAKING research into a rare tumour has led him to a surprising discovery that could benefit millions and earn billions.
(The Globe and Mail, Canada)
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All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with PAINSTAKING excellence.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
(The Globe and Mail, Canada)
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All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with PAINSTAKING excellence.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Did you
know?
painstaking
adjective
- extremely careful and correct, and using a lot of effort
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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Painstaking is the adjective form of the expression "to take pains," meaning to make a great effort to do something or to do something with great care and attention to detail. It's like the old proverb that says "Genius is the infinite capacity for taking pains." This essentially means that genius is the quality of being exceedingly careful about everything one does.
These days we might say "no pain, no gain" or "there is no pleasure without pain." In other words, success cannot be achieved without hard work, which can be painful, either mentally or physically. Regardless if it's sports, business or academics, the effort it takes to reach the top can often feel like punishment.
The relationship between punishment and pain goes back to the origin of the word pain itself. The word "pain" originally referred to punishment, as in a crime. It stems from the Old French "peine" and the Latin "poena" meaning penalty or punishment. In Late Latin poena was also used in the sense of "torment, hardship, suffering," which is probably where the modern sense of "pain" derived from. The Greek "poine" (punishment) is also related.
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SYNONYMS
assiduous, careful, detailed, diligent, exacting, meticulous, particular, thorough
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Without his painstaking work, the problem would never have been solved."
adjective
- extremely careful and correct, and using a lot of effort
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
Painstaking is the adjective form of the expression "to take pains," meaning to make a great effort to do something or to do something with great care and attention to detail. It's like the old proverb that says "Genius is the infinite capacity for taking pains." This essentially means that genius is the quality of being exceedingly careful about everything one does.
These days we might say "no pain, no gain" or "there is no pleasure without pain." In other words, success cannot be achieved without hard work, which can be painful, either mentally or physically. Regardless if it's sports, business or academics, the effort it takes to reach the top can often feel like punishment.
The relationship between punishment and pain goes back to the origin of the word pain itself. The word "pain" originally referred to punishment, as in a crime. It stems from the Old French "peine" and the Latin "poena" meaning penalty or punishment. In Late Latin poena was also used in the sense of "torment, hardship, suffering," which is probably where the modern sense of "pain" derived from. The Greek "poine" (punishment) is also related.
---
SYNONYMS
assiduous, careful, detailed, diligent, exacting, meticulous, particular, thorough
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Without his painstaking work, the problem would never have been solved."
