conscientious

the word 'conscientious' is built upon the latin root 'sci-', meaning 'to know', which itself descends from the proto-indo-european root skeie-, meaning 'to cut, to split', and by extension, 'to discern'. combined with the intensive prefix 'con-', it forms the latin 'conscientia', meaning 'knowledge within oneself, consciousness'. the suffix '-entious' was added through french influence to create an adjective describing a person who is guided by an inner moral knowledge. thus, the literal sense of 'knowing with oneself' evolved into the modern meaning of being diligent and principled, driven by a careful awareness of right and wrong.

Structure: con (with) + sci (know) + entious (adjective suffix) con- (latin prefix, meaning 'with, together'); sci (latin root, from 'scire', meaning 'to know'); -entious (latin-derived adjective-forming suffix, via french, indicating a quality or state)