mettle

Originally a variant of metal.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛt.l̩/
• Rhymes: -ɛtəl
• Homophones: metal, medal, meddle (in accents with flapping)

mettle (usually uncountable, plural mettles)

1. A quality of endurance and courage.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fifth, act iv, scene 8 (First Folio ed.)

     By this Day and this Light, the fellow ha's mettell enough in his belly.

   • 2001, Harry J. Alexandrowicz, Testing your Mettle: Tough Problems and Real-world Solutions for Middle and High School Teachers, page xiii

     Please read on and discover the issues in education that test the mettle of those who experience this world every day.

2. Good temperament and character.
   • 1868, Charles Dickens, Bleak House

     The arrival of this unexpected heir soon taking wind in the court, still makes good for the Sol, and keeps the court upon its mettle.

3. (obsolete) Metal; a metallic substance.
   • 1638, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, page 54

     They have neither gold nor silver of their owne, wine nor oyle, or scarce any corne growing in those united Provinces, little or no Wood, Tinne, Lead, Iron, Silke, Wooll, any stuffe almost, or Mettle; and yet Hungary, Transilvania, that bragge of their mines, fertile England cannot compare with them.

• (quality of endurance and courage): courage, heart, spirit

• mettlesome