Confused words. 2014.
metal / mettle — Metal is the hard stuff we make things out of: Gold is a soft metal that is easily shaped. Mettle is the stuff we are made of, our character, spirit: If she were made of tougher mettle, she would not give up and quit her job … Confused words
metal, mettle — For all his lexicographical genius, Samuel Johnson was not always the most consistent of spellers. It is thanks to him that we have such discordant pairs as deign but disdain and deceit but receipt, among many others. With metal and mettle,… … Dictionary of troublesome word
metal, mettle — For all his lexicographical genius, Samuel Johnson was not always the most consistent of spellers. It is thanks to him that we have such discordant pairs as deign but disdain and deceit but receipt, among many others. With metal and mettle,… … Dictionary of troublesome word
metal — metal, mettle 1. Both are in origin the same word. In the 16c mettle began to move apart as a separate word used only in figurative meanings, of which the dominant one still current is ‘ardent or spirited temperament; spirit, courage’, as in the… … Modern English usage
mettle — metal, mettle 1. Both are in origin the same word. In the 16c mettle began to move apart as a separate word used only in figurative meanings, of which the dominant one still current is ‘ardent or spirited temperament; spirit, courage’, as in the… … Modern English usage
Mettle — Met tle, n. [E. metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. See {Metal}.] Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; usually in a… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Metal — Met al (? or ?; 277), n. [F. m[ e]tal, L. metallum metal, mine, Gr. ? mine; cf. Gr. ? to search after. Cf. {Mettle}, {Medal}.] 1. (Chem.) An elementary substance, as sodium, calcium, or copper, whose oxide or hydroxide has basic rather than acid… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
mettle — ► NOUN ▪ spirit and resilience in the face of difficulty. ● be on one s mettle Cf. ↑be on one s mettle ORIGIN variant spelling of METAL(Cf. ↑metal) … English terms dictionary
metal — , mettle Metal denotes chemical elements such as gold and copper; mettle is for contexts describing courage or spirit … Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors
mettle — (n.) 1580s, variant spelling of METAL (Cf. metal), both forms used interchangeably (by Shakespeare and others) in the literal sense and in the figurative one of stuff of which a person is made (1550s) until the spellings and senses diverged early … Etymology dictionary
