Ardeola (ardeola)

[L., a little heron, dim. of ardea, a heron.] A genus of small and somewhat rail-like herons, the squacco herons, of the subfamily Ardeina. The type is A. comata or 4. ralloides, of Europe; but there are several other spe cies. J. F. Boie, difficulty; arduousne . Cocker am . arduous (är'dū-us), a . [ arduus , lofty, high, steep, hard to reach, difficult, laborious, = Gael. Ir. Corn. Manx ard , high.] 1. Steep, and therefore difficult of ascent; hard to climb. High on Parna us' top her sons she show'd, And pointed out those arduous paths they trod. Pope , E ay on Criticism, 1. 95. 2. Attended with great labor, like the ascent of acclivities; difficult. In every arduous enterprise we consider what we are to lose, as well as what we are to gain. Burke , Conciliation with America. Hence-3. Energetic; laborious: said of persons or actions: as, an arduous student; ardu ous struggles. = Syn. 2. Difficult , Hard , Arduous , laborious, toilsome, herculean, severe. Difficult means not easy, attended with obstacles, requiring work, but po ible by faithful effort and perseverance: as, a difficult problem, question, task, or case in surgery. Hard suggests work, like that of digging up hard ground, or breaking through hard rock; it is stronger than difficult . It may also apply to pa ive suffering: as, a hard fate. What is arduous requires more energy and endurance, and is le within the reach of common powers, than what is hard . Its primitive meaning of steep climbing is still felt in it, and makes it suggestive of severe and protracted effort. To explore the history of any language is a task peculiarly dificult at this period of the world, in which we are so remote from the era of its construction. S. Turner, Hist. Anglo-Saxons. The hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. Ex. xviii. 26. Faithful friends are hard to find. Shak ., Pa . Pilgrim, 1. 403. Such an enterprise would be in the highest degree ar Macaulay, Hist. Eng., ii. It is often difficult to control our feelings; it is still harder to subdue our will; but it is an arduous undertaking to control the contending will of others. IMG:content-1094.png:[graphic]