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scru·pu·lous

(skrpyə-ləs)

adj.

1. Conscientious and exact; painstaking. See Synonyms at meticulous.

2. Having scruples; principled.

[Middle English, from Old French scrupuleux, from Latin scrūpulōsus, from scrūpulus, scruple; see SCRUPLE.]

scru′pu·losi·ty (-lŏsĭ-tē), scrupu·lous·ness (-ləs-nĭs) n.

scrupu·lous·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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