ENGLISH
REFERENCE

diffidence

n.
UK //dˈɪfɪdəns// dif·fi·dence Archaic
Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Latin diffīdentiam (“distrust”), from diffīdere (“to mistrust”), from dis- and fīdere (“to trust”). Attested since ∼1400. The original sense was antonymous with confidence, and the modern sense of ‘distrusting oneself’ dates from the 1650s.

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