mettle : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: mettle	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for mettle
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
mettle n the courage to carry on; "he kept fighting on pure spunk"; "you haven't got the heart for baseball" Synonym(s): heart, mettle, nerve, spunk
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
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 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.