mettle

inherent quality of character; fortitude; courage
Not to be confused with:metal – a hard substance such as gold, silver, or copper

met·tle

M0244800 (mĕt′l)n. The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve: a race that tested the best runners' mettle.Idiom: on (one's) mettle Prepared to accept a challenge and do one's best.

[Variant of metal.]Word History: Not only do metal and mettle have exactly the same pronunciation, the two terms are—etymologically, at least—exactly the same word. Middle English borrowed metal from Old French in the 1200s; Old French metal, metail, came from Latin metallum, from Greek metallon, "mine, quarry, ore, metal." By the 1500s, English metal had also come to mean "the stuff one is made of, one's character," but there was no difference in spelling between the literal and figurative senses until about 1700, when the spelling mettle, originally just a variant of metal, was fixed for the sense "strength of character." English has numerous examples of similar word pairs that are (historically speaking) spelling variants of the same word, including flour/flower and lightening/lightning.

mettle

(ˈmɛtəl) n1. courage; spirit2. inherent character3. on one's mettle roused to putting forth one's best efforts[C16: originally variant spelling of metal]

met•tle

(ˈmɛt l)

n. 1. courage and fortitude. 2. disposition or temperament: of fine mettle. Idioms: on one's mettle, ready to do one's best. [1575–85; variant of metal, in metaphoric usages]

Thesaurus

Noun

mettle - the courage to carry on; "he kept fighting on pure spunk"; "you haven't got the heart for baseball"nerve, spunk, heartbraveness, bravery, courage, courageousness - a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear

mettle

noun1. courage, spirit, resolution, resolve, life, heart, fire, balls (taboo slang), bottle (Brit. slang), nerve, daring, guts (informal), pluck, grit, bravery, fortitude, vigour, boldness, gallantry, ardour, valour, spunk (informal), indomitability, hardihood, gameness It's the first real test of his mettle this season.2. character, quality, nature, make-up, stamp, temper, kidney, temperament, calibre, disposition He is of a different mettle from the others.

mettle

nounThe quality of mind enabling one to face danger or hardship resolutely:braveness, bravery, courage, courageousness, dauntlessness, doughtiness, fearlessness, fortitude, gallantry, gameness, heart, intrepidity, intrepidness, nerve, pluck, pluckiness, spirit, stoutheartedness, undauntedness, valiance, valiancy, valiantness, valor.Informal: spunk, spunkiness.Slang: gut (used in plural), gutsiness, moxie.

Translations

lo spinger... a impegnarsi a fondovigore

mettle

be on (one's) mettle

To be determined to succeed and thus prove one's worth, often in a difficult or unpleasant situation. I know my employees think I'm too young to be their supervisor, so I have to be on my mettle every day at the office.See also: mettle, on

prove (one's) mettle

To prove that one has endurance and strength of character, or the necessary skills, abilities, or traits to succeed in something. You may be the youngest lawyer in the firm, but you certainly proved your mettle in that high-profile murder case. The new CEO proved her mettle by completely restructuring the dying mobile phone division into the powerhouse it is today.See also: mettle, prove

show (one's) mettle

To show that one has endurance and strength of character, or the necessary skills, abilities, or traits to succeed in something. You may be the youngest lawyer in the firm, but you certainly showed your mettle in that high-profile murder case. The new CEO showed her mettle when she completely restructured the dying mobile phone division into the powerhouse it is today.See also: mettle, show

put (one) on (one's) mettle

To put one in a situation in which they must prove their worth, skill, or ability. Being promoted to general manager at such a young age is certainly going to put her on her mettle. Our goal is to put each of these athletes on their mettle to see who earns the spot on the team.See also: mettle, on, put

on (one's) mettle

Determined to succeed and thus prove one's worth, often in a difficult or unpleasant situation. I know my employees think I'm too young to be their supervisor, so I have to be on my mettle every day at the office.See also: mettle, on

be on your mettle

be ready or forced to prove your ability to cope well with a demanding situation.See also: mettle, on

put someone on their mettle

(of a demanding situation) test someone's ability to face difficulties in a spirited and resilient way. Originally the same word as metal , mettle was no more than a variant spelling that gradually became particularly associated with figurative uses of the word, meaning ‘quality of temperament’, and from that ‘natural spirit’ or ‘courage’. These senses eventually developed so far from the literal senses that it was no longer apparent that they were originally the same word. The distinctive spellings metal and mettle to distinguish the two were in use by the early 18th century, though not necessarily universally applied until the following century.See also: mettle, on, put, someone

be on, show, prove, etc. your ˈmettle

be prepared to do the best work you can or perform as well as you can in a particular situation: When the boss comes round, I want you all to show your mettle. ♢ He’ll have to be on his mettle if he wants to win the next race. Mettle is the ability and determination to do something successfully in spite of difficult conditions.See also: mettle

put somebody on their ˈmettle

make somebody do the best work they can, or perform as well as they can: The school inspection is going to put the teachers on their mettle.See also: mettle, on, put, somebody

on (one's) mettle

Prepared to accept a challenge and do one's best.See also: mettle, on

mettle

mettle

met·tle

mettle

met•tle

mettle

mettle

mettle

be on (one's) mettle

prove (one's) mettle

show (one's) mettle

put (one) on (one's) mettle

on (one's) mettle

be on your mettle

put someone on their mettle

be on, show, prove, etc. your ˈmettle

put somebody on their ˈmettle

on (one's) mettle

mettle

Synonyms for mettle

noun courage

Synonyms

noun character

Synonyms

Synonyms for mettle

noun the quality of mind enabling one to face danger or hardship resolutely

Synonyms

Synonyms for mettle

noun the courage to carry on

Synonyms

Related Words