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mettle

 - 3 dictionary results

met⋅tle

  [met-l]
Use mettle in a Sentence
–noun
1. courage and fortitude: a man of mettle.
2. disposition or temperament: a man of fine mettle.
—Idiom
3. on one's mettle, in the position of being incited to do one's best The loss of the first round put him on his mettle to win the match.
Origin:
1575–85; sp. var. of metal, in metaphoric usages

Synonyms:
1. valor, pluck, vigor, ardor, nerve, fiber.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mettle
met·tle   (mět'l)   
n.  

  1. Courage and fortitude; spirit: troops who showed their mettle in combat.

  2. Inherent quality of character and temperament.


[Variant of metal.]
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

mettle 
1581, variant spelling of metal, both of which were used interchangeably (by Shakespeare and others) in the literal sense and in the figurative sense of "stuff of which a person is made" until the spellings and senses diverged early 18c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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