doughty

English

WOTD – 5 February 2020

Alternative forms

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Middle English doughty (brave, bold, valiant), from Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ (competent, good, strong, valiant),[1] from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg.

The English word may be analysed as dought + -y, and is cognate with Danish dygtig (virtuous, proficient), Dutch duchtig (severe, strict), German tüchtig (capable, competent, efficient; big; hard), Icelandic dygðugur (virtuous, stable), Scots douchty, douchtie (bold, valiant), Swedish duktig (efficient; good; capable, clever, smart).[2][3]

The noun is derived from the adjective.[2]

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdaʊti/
  • (file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdaʊti/, [-ɾi]
  • (Canada) IPA(key): [ˈdʌʊ̯ɾi] (Canadian raising)
  • Rhymes: -aʊti

Adjective

doughty (comparative doughtier or more doughty, superlative doughtiest or most doughty)

  1. (dated or archaic) Bold; brave, courageous.
    Synonyms: dauntless, fearless, intrepid, resolute, stouthearted, valiant; see also Thesaurus:brave
    Antonyms: see Thesaurus:cowardly

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

doughty (plural doughties)

  1. (archaic, rare) A person who is bold or brave.

Translations

References

  1. doughtī, adj. and n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. Compare doughty, adj. and n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2018.
  3. doughty, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ, from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg, *dohtag.

Forms with /u/ (/uː/ through lengthening before /xt/) are likely due to the analogy of douen (early /ˈduɣən/).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈduxtiː/, /ˈduːxtiː/, /ˈdɔxtiː/, /ˈdɔu̯xtiː/

Adjective

doughty (comparative doughtiere, superlative doughtiest)

  1. Brave, fearless, doughty; demonstrating valiance.
  2. Amazing, fine; of high quality or worth.

Descendants

  • English: doughty
  • Scots: douchty, douchtie

References

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