mettlesome
adjective

- having courage and fortitude; spirited and brave

- full of vigor and stamina; marked by a spirited quality

- brave and determined, especially when facing difficulties

Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "mettlesome" was formed in the 1660s from "mettle" plus the suffix "-some." The root word "mettle" itself began as a variant spelling of "metal" in the 1580s, and both forms were used interchangeably by Shakespeare and others in both literal and figurative senses.

In the 16th century, metal—or mettle—acquired the figurative sense of "spirit," "courage," or "stamina." This figurative meaning referred to the "stuff of which a person is made" or a person's physical or moral constitution, which had been in use since the 1550s. The two spellings were originally interchangeable variants, but came to be distinguished by sense in the 18th century, with "mettle" becoming the standard spelling for the figurative sense referring to the quality of one's character.

The connection to the physical substance makes sense—metal was valued for its strength, durability, and ability to withstand heat and pressure, qualities that came to describe human character.

When the suffix "-some" (meaning "characterized by") was added in the 1660s, it created "mettlesome" to describe someone possessing these qualities in abundance.

The word was particularly popular in describing horses with spirit and stamina, though it has always been applied to people as well.

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THE STRENGTH IN LOSING
Sometimes the moments that undo us are the ones that prepare us to win.

When Steve Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985, he could have disappeared to a beach somewhere. He was already rich and famous. Instead, he started NeXT and bought Pixar. Both ventures struggled for years. NeXT barely sold any computers. Pixar almost went bankrupt before Toy Story saved it. Jobs spent a decade in the wilderness before Apple bought NeXT and brought him back — wiser, humbler, and sharper. That lost decade made him better.

J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by twelve publishers. She was a single mother on welfare, writing in cafés, battling depression. Most writers would have quit after five or six rejections. She kept sending it out. Bloomsbury finally said yes, offering her a £1,500 advance. Their chairman advised her to “get a day job — there’s no money in children’s books.” The Potter universe is now worth around $25 billion globally.

Michael Jordan didn’t start as a legend. As a high-school sophomore he was cut from the varsity team. He went home, cried, then got up the next morning and practiced longer than anyone else. Every single day. His coach later said cutting Jordan was the best motivation he could have given him.

After losing the brutal 2008 Democratic primary to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton had every reason to walk away. Instead, she joined his cabinet as Secretary of State and put in four years of 18-hour days for the man who’d beaten her. She showed up and did the work.

Jobs, Rowling, Jordan, Clinton — different lives, same pattern. They got knocked down hard and refused to make that their ending. They just refused to stay down.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

audacious, bold, brave, courageous, dauntless, daring, determined, dogged, doesn't know when to quit, feisty, fearless, fights tooth and nail, full of fight, gallant, game, gives as good as they get, gritty, gutsy, has backbone, has guts, hardy, intrepid, iron-willed, keeps coming back, lion-hearted, made of stern stuff, METTLESOME, never say die, plucky, refuses to quit, resolute, rises to the challenge, rolls with the punches, spirited, spunky, stalwart, stands their ground, stout-hearted, takes it on the chin, tenacious, undaunted, unflinching, won't back down (throw in the towel)

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SMUGGLE
 OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“It's a pity that today’s workplaces don't reward the METTLESOME, but the compliant?”

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D