doughty
English
Alternative forms
- doubty (obsolete)
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/
Audio (UK) (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)
- (dated or archaic) Bold; brave, courageous.
- Synonyms: dauntless, fearless, intrepid, resolute, stouthearted, valiant; see also Thesaurus:brave
- Antonyms: see Thesaurus:cowardly
- 2014 November 14, Blake Bailey, “‘Tennessee Williams,’ by John Lahr [print version: Theatrical victory of art over life, International New York Times, 18 November 2014, page 13]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 August 2019:
- [S]he [Edwina, mother of Tennessee Williams] was indeed Amanda [Wingfield, character in Williams' play The Glass Menagerie] in the flesh: a doughty chatterbox from Ohio who adopted the manner of a Southern belle and eschewed both drink and sex to the greatest extent possible.
Derived terms
- dought
- doughtily
- doughtiness
- doughty-handed
Translations
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Translations
References
- “doughtī, adj. and n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- Compare “doughty, adj. and n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2018.
- “doughty, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Middle English
Alternative forms
- dogheti, doghte, doghti, doghuti, doȝti, doȝty, dohty, dohuthi, dohuti, douchti, dougheti, doughety, douȝcti, douȝthi, douȝti, douȝty, douhte, douhti, douhty, dousti, douthi, douti, dowghty, dowȝti, dowȝty, dowsty, dowty, duchti, dughti, duȝte, duȝti, duȝty, duhtie, duthi
- dohti, duhhtiȝ, duhti, duhtiȝ (Early Middle English)
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)
Related terms
Descendants
- English: doughty
- Scots: douchty, douchtie
References
- “doughtī, adj & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-06-11.