doughty · adj — bold; brave, courageous. It carries an Arena rating of 1706, earned across 54 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, doughty ranks #145 of 17,135 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,229 of 17,135 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,335 of 17,136 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,752 of 17,145 for Most Malleable Words.
doughty is pronounced /ˈdaʊti/.
Why “doughty” is a great word
DOUGHTY — [Adjective] Brave and valiant, characterized by steadfast, enduring, and reliable courage. From Middle English doughty, from Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ ("competent, good, strong, valiant"), from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg, related to the concept of worth or virtue. Unlike “valiant,” which flashes in a single heroic deed, or “intrepid,” which dares the unexplored, “doughty” is the quieter, dogged virtue of the long haul. It is the stubborn squareness of a weathered shield, the unyielding grip on a plough through hardened earth, and the low, steady flame that persists when the blaze has died—a testament that the greatest fortitude is often not in the charge, but in the standing firm.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Middle English doughty (“brave, bold, valiant”), from Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ (“competent, good, strong, valiant”), from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg. The English word may be analysed as dought + -y, and is cognate with Scots douchty, douchtie (“bold, valiant”), Dutch duchtig (“severe, strict”), German tüchtig (“capable, competent, efficient; big; hard”), Danish dygtig (“virtuous, proficient”), Swedish duktig (“efficient; good; capable, clever, smart”), Icelandic dygðugur (“virtuous, stable”). The noun is derived from the adjective.
adj
- Bold; brave, courageous.e.g.“Hurriedly he snatched up others, one or two at a time, until he had slaughtered thirty of Hrothgar's doughtiest earls.” — 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 21:
- Robust, sturdy; strong and perhaps stout.e.g.“Aye, here's a ship of doughty build and strong: But not for lads like you to sail to port.” — 1937, Edward Mellor Jameson, Charterhouse:
- Catachresis for dowdy.
name
- A surname transferred from the nickname.
noun
- A person who is bold or brave.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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