empeño

determination, effort

noun ehm-PEH-nyoh Rare

Origin: From 'empeñar' (to pawn, to pledge), related to Latin 'pignus' (pledge).

Also means

pledge, pawn

Usage Note

Empeño has two related but distinct lives: in everyday speech it most commonly means strong determination or persistent effort (con empeño, with determination); in commerce it means the act of pawning an item (casa de empeños, pawnshop). The link is the idea of staking something valuable — in one case money, in the other effort. The phrase tener empeño en means 'to be keen to do something'.

Examples

"Estudió con empeño y aprobó el examen."

Natural Translation

She studied with determination and passed the exam.

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