doughty

• doubty (obsolete)

The adjective is derived from Middle English doughty (“brave, bold, valiant”), from Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ (“competent, good, strong, valiant”),^[1] from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg.

The English word may be analysed as dought +‎ -y, and is cognate with Danish dygtig (“virtuous, proficient”), Dutch duchtig (“severe, strict”), German tüchtig (“capable, competent, efficient; big; hard”), Icelandic dygðugur (“virtuous, stable”), Scots douchty, douchtie (“bold, valiant”), Swedish duktig (“efficient; good; capable, clever, smart”).^[2][3]

The noun is derived from the adjective.^[2]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊti/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊti/, [-ɾi]
• (Canada, Canadian raising) IPA^(key): [ˈdʌʊ̯ɾi]
• Rhymes: -aʊti

doughty (comparative doughtier or more doughty, superlative doughtiest or most doughty)

1. (literary or archaic) Bold; brave, courageous.

   Synonyms: dauntless, fearless, intrepid, resolute, stouthearted, valiant; see also Thesaurus:brave

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:cowardly

   • 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 21:

     Hurriedly he snatched up others, one or two at a time, until he had slaughtered thirty of Hrothgar's doughtiest earls.

   • 2014 November 14, Blake Bailey, “‘Tennessee Williams,’ by John Lahr [print version: Theatrical victory of art over life, International New York Times, 18 November 2014, page 13]”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 August 2019:

     [S]he [Edwina, mother of Tennessee Williams] was indeed Amanda [Wingfield, character in Williams's play The Glass Menagerie] in the flesh: a doughty chatterbox from Ohio who adopted the manner of a Southern belle and eschewed both drink and sex to the greatest extent possible.

doughty (plural doughties)

1. (archaic, rare) A person who is bold or brave.

• dogheti, doghte, doghti, doghuti, doȝti, doȝty, dohty, dohuthi, dohuti, douchti, dougheti, doughety, douȝcti, douȝthi, douȝti, douȝty, douhte, douhti, douhty, dousti, douthi, douti, dowghty, dowȝti, dowȝty, dowsty, dowty, duchti, dughti, duȝte, duȝti, duȝty, duhtie, duthi
• dohti, duhhtiȝ, duhti, duhtiȝ (Early Middle English)

From Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ, from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg, *dohtag.

Forms with /u/ (/uː/ through lengthening before /xt/) are likely due to the analogy of douen (early /ˈduɣən/).

• IPA^(key): /ˈduxtiː/, /ˈduːxtiː/, /ˈdɔxtiː/, /ˈdɔu̯xtiː/

doughty (comparative doughtiere, superlative doughtiest)

1. Brave, fearless, doughty; demonstrating valiance.
2. Amazing, fine; of high quality or worth.

• dought
• doughtyly
• doughtynesse

• English: doughty
• Scots: douchty, douchtie

• “doughtī, adj & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 11 June 2019.