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derring-do

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der⋅ring-do

  [der-ing-doo]
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–noun
daring deeds; heroic daring.
Origin:
1325–75; ME durring-do lit., daring to do, erroneously taken as n. phrase. See dare, do 1
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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der·ring-do   (děr'ĭng-dōō')
n.  Daring or reckless action.

[Misinterpretation of earlier derrynge do, misprint of Late Middle English dorryng do, daring to do, from Middle English durring don, daring to do : durring, present participle of durren, to dare (from Old English durran; see dare) + don, to do; see do1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

derring-do 
originally (c.1374) dorrying don, lit. "daring to do," from durring "daring," prp. of M.E. durren "to dare" (see dare) + don, inf. of "to do." Misspelled derrynge do 1500s and mistaken for a noun by Spenser, who took it to mean "manhood and chevalrie;" picked up from him and passed on to Romantic poets as a pseudo-archaism by Sir Walter Scott.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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