Meanings
nounderring-do (uncountable)
- uncountableBrave and adventurous (albeit often reckless) actions.
Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But the captain had long ago decided that he would, on the whole, prefer to achieve immortality by not dying.
1983, Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic, published 2022, page 225
Origin
From Middle English daring (to) do, misinterpreted as a noun by Edmund Spenser.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch heldendaden, waaghalzerij
- heldendadenbrave and adventurous actions
- waaghalzerijbrave and adventurous actions
French prouesse, hauts faits
- prouessebrave and adventurous actions
- hauts faitsbrave and adventurous actions
- exploitsbrave and adventurous actions
- faits d'armesbrave and adventurous actions
- acte de bravourebrave and adventurous actions
Icelandic þrekvirki
- þrekvirkivaliant deeds in desperate times
Italian prodezza
- prodezzabrave and adventurous actions
Polish bohaterstwo, brawura
- bohaterstwovaliant deeds in desperate times
- brawurabrave and adventurous actions
- junactwobrave and adventurous actions
Portuguese façanha, proeza
- façanhabrave and adventurous actions
- proezabrave and adventurous actions
Russian безрассудство
- безрассудство (bezrassudstvo)brave and adventurous actions
Spanish proeza, hazaña
- proezabrave and adventurous actions
- hazañabrave and adventurous actions
- gestabrave and adventurous actions
- hombradabrave and adventurous actions
Cite this entry
APA
derring-do. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/derring-do
MLA
“derring-do.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/derring-do. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “derring-do,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/derring-do.
Source: derring-do on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.