doughty

doughty · adjective, noun¹

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*duhtīg
2. Old English · inherited fromdohtiġ
3. Middle English · inherited fromdoughty“brave, bold, valiant”
4. English todaydoughty

The adjective is derived from Middle English doughty (“brave, bold, valiant”), from Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ (“competent, good, strong, valiant”), from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg. The English word may be analysed as dought + -y, and is cognate with Scots douchty, douchtie (“bold, valiant”), Dutch duchtig (“severe, strict”), German tüchtig (“capable, competent, efficient; big; hard”), Danish dygtig (“virtuous, proficient”), Swedish duktig (“efficient; good; capable, clever, smart”), Icelandic dygðugur (“virtuous, stable”). The noun is derived from the adjective.

Doughty · proper noun²

From doughty, a nickname for a powerful and brave man, especially a champion jouster.