pluckinessn.
/ˈplʌkɪnᵻs/, U.S. /ˈpləkinᵻs/ The quality of being plucky; pluck.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > courage > spirit > [noun]
hearteOE
spirita1382
fierceness1490
stomach?1529
spritec1540
fire1579
mettle1581
rage1590
brave-spiritednessa1617
lion-heart1667
game1747
spunk1773
pluck1785
gameness1810
ginger1836
pluckiness1846
gimp1901
ticker1930
cojones1932
1846 Era 31 May 12/4 Ye Engineers of England, Whose pluckiness and nerve Have floored a thousand obstacles [etc.].
1852 Times 15 Dec. 8/2 The Marionettes increase in the valuable quality of ‘pluckiness’. Who would dream of the opera of Guy Mannering..performed by dolls only?
1863 W. D. Bickham Rosecrans' Campaign with 14th Army Corps 287 The men..withstood..the fury of their destructive artillery with unflinching pluckiness and determination.
1884 Harper's Mag. Mar. 644/2 Numerous preliminary difficulties, which were encountered and overcome with characteristic patience and pluckiness.
1925 Eng. Hist. Rev. 40 611 A realization of the vastness of the scheme and the pluckiness of the attempt.
2004 Intelligencer (Doylestown, Pa.) 14 Jan. c3/5 They..have impressed even their foes with their pluckiness and heart.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1846