Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DIF'FI-CULT, a. [L. difficilis; dis and facilis, easy to be made or done, from facio, to make or do; Sp. dificultoso; It. difficoltoso.]

1. Hard to be made, done or performed; not easy; attended with labor and pains; as, our task is difficult. It is difficult to persuade men to abandon vice. It is difficult to ascends a steep hill, or travel a bad road.
2. Hard to be pleased; not easily wrought upon; not readily yielding; not compliant; unaccommodating; rigid; austere; not easily managed or persuaded; as, a difficult man; a person of a difficult temper.
3. Hard to be ascended as a hill, traveled as a road, or crossed as a river, &c. We say, a difficult ascent; a difficult road; a difficult river to cross; &c.