Lexic.us

Definition of Mettle

1. Noun. The courage to carry on. "You haven't got the heart for baseball"

Definition of Mettle

1. n. Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; -- usually in a good sense.

Definition of Mettle

1. Noun. A quality of endurance and courage. ¹

2. Noun. Good temperament and character. ¹

3. Noun. (obsolete) Metal; a metallic substance. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Mettle

1. quality of character [n -S] : METTLED [adj]

Medical Definition of Mettle

1. Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, especially. As regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; usually in a good sense. "A certain critical hour which shall.. Try what mettle his heart is made of." (South) "Gentlemen of brave mettle." (Shak) "The winged courser, like a generous horse, Shows most true mettle when you check his course." (Pope) To put one one's mettle, to cause or incite one to use one's best efforts. Origin: E. Metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. See Metal. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Mettle

Literary usage of Mettle

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Musical World (1888)
"Principall of mettle, 61 pipes 06 foote tone; 4. Quinta of mettle, 61 pipes 12 foote tone; 5. Super octavo, 61 pipes 03 foote; 6. Cornett of mettle ..."

2. The Iliad of Homer by Homer, John Graham Cordery (1871)
"... Such mettle on his steeds Athene breathed, And gave him all the glory of that day. Next after whom was following Atreus' Son, When to his father's ..."

3. The Church of the Knights Templars in London: A Description of the Fabric by George Worley (1907)
"Principall of mettle 4. Quinta of mettle 5. Super octavo 6. ... and Violin of mettle 16. Voice humane of mettle 948 61 pipes 61 61 61 61 61 12 foote tone 06 ..."

4. The Bookman (1915)
"... Thomas Nelson Page's Gordon Keith, Frank Norris's The Pit, and Mr. Allen's The mettle of the Pasture, while in the closing months of the year John Fox's ..."

5. A Dictionary of the English Language: In which the Words are Deduced from ...by Samuel Johnson by Samuel Johnson (1805)
"Their consciences are galled by it, and this makes them wince un Jy//"£ as if they had some mettle. ..."

6. The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray by William Makepeace Thackeray, Sir Leslie Stephen (1899)
"CHAPTER XVI IN WHICH PHILIP SHOWS HIS mettle WHEN the poor Little Sister proffered her mite, her all, to Philip, I daresay some sentimental passages ..."

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