Definition of DOUGHTINESS

Did You Know?

Doughty is a persevering Old English word. Its earliest form was "dyhtig," but early on the vowel changed and the word became "dohtig." That was probably due to influence from a related Old English word, dohte, meaning "had worth." By the 13th century, the spelling "doughty" had begun to appear. The expected pronunciation would be \DAW-tee\, paralleling other similarly spelled old words like "bought" and "sought." But over the centuries, the spelling was sometimes confused with that of the now obsolete word doubty, meaning "full of doubt," and thus, so it is conjectured, we have the pronunciation we use today.

Examples of doughty in a Sentence

the doughty heroes of old

Recent Examples on the Web Portraits of a few of these feckless rotters line the wall on the way to dinner, along with the portrait of another of the doughty women who seem to keep popping up in Yorkshire. — Joshua Levine, Travel + Leisure, "Enjoy Pub Life, Sculpture Parks, and Classic Estates on a Scenic Trip Through Yorkshire, England," 7 Mar. 2021 These days the doughty turkey has won the loyalty of millions of people for another reason—as a favourite festive-season meal. — The Economist, "Why is turkey meat becoming increasingly popular?," 23 Dec. 2020 There has been scant polling in Michigan accounting for the possibility of an Amash candidacy, but what little there is likely sends a shiver through the heart of Biden’s most doughty institutional supporters. — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, "The Democrats’ Very Revealing Angst About Justin Amash," 29 Apr. 2020 One doughty grey-haired woman in a woollen jumper leads her tribe down the broken walkway, her walking stick pointing the way. — Tom Rowley, 1843, "My journey to the heart of the great British expo," 6 Mar. 2020 Some of that freshness comes from the cast, a cornucopia of effervescent young talent ballasted by a handful of doughty old-timers. — New York Times, "‘Little Women’ Review: This Movie Is Big," 23 Dec. 2019 On yet another set sits a doughty Victorian tugboat, the deck raked at an alarming angle, as if bracing against an unexpected swell. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "Extraordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things: Behind the Scenes of Cats," 19 Dec. 2019 That a teenager could not only appear for such an assessment but do so before the doughty examiner Mistowsky was an astonishing achievement. — Priya Chaturvedi, Quartz India, "The story of a female Indian violinist whose phenomenal career was cut short by fate," 16 July 2019 At nearly a century, the Duke of Edinburgh is the proud, doughty patriarch of a Royal Firm eminently well-prepared for the modern era. — Juliet Rieden, Town & Country, "At 98, Prince Philip Is the Last of the Old-School Royals," 10 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'doughty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.