mettle means spirited, vigorous, stout-hearted. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 77 out of 100.
Why this word is great
METTLE — [Noun] A person's inherent quality of courage, spirit, and resilience, especially when tested by demanding circumstances. From a 16th-century figurative use of 'metal', with the spelling variant 'mettle' becoming distinguished for this abstract sense in the 18th century. Unlike 'courage', which often implies a single, luminous act against danger, or 'tenacity', which suggests a stubborn, adhesive persistence, mettle is the foundational alloy of character, proven not in a moment but across the slow forge of circumstance. It is the unyielding ring of the anvil under the hammer, the farmer walking the ruined rows to plan the next sowing, the unwavering tenor of a voice in a darkened room when all plans have failed—the durable core that remains when everything decorative has been stripped away.
adj
- Spirited, vigorous, stout-hearted.“And then one afternoon in the hinder end of April came young Heriotside riding to the Skerburnfoot. His arm was healed, he had got him a fine new suit of green, and his horse was a mettle beast that well set off his figure.”
noun
- A quality of courage and endurance.“By this Day and this Light, the fellow ha's mettell enough in his belly.”
- Good temperament and character.“Your Maſter quits you: and for your ſeruice done him, / So much againſt the mettle of your ſex”