mettle
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L323883 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈmɛtəl/
adj
Etymology: From figurative use of metal (since 16th century). The two spellings were originally interchangeable variants, but came to be distinguished by sense in the 18th century.
- 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
Etymology: From figurative use of metal (since 16th century). The two spellings were originally interchangeable variants, but came to be distinguished by sense in the 18th century.
- A quality of courage and endurance.
“By this Day and this Light, the fellow ha's mettell enough in his belly.”
“Please read on and discover the issues in education that test the mettle of those who experience this world every day.”
- Good temperament and character.
“Your Maſter quits you: and for your ſeruice done him, / So much againſt the mettle of your ſex”
“The arrival of this unexpected heir soon taking wind in the court, still makes good for the Sol, and keeps the court upon its mettle.”
- Obsolete spelling of metal (“metallic substance”).
“They have neither gold nor silver of their owne, wine nor oyle, or scarce any corne growing in those united Provinces, little or no Wood, Tinne, Lead, Iron, Silke, Wooll, any stuffe almost, or Mettle; and yet Hungary, Transilvania, that bragge of their mines, fertile England cannot compare with them.”