Bill ZehmeWilliam Shakespeare
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Is mettle Connected to Metal?
Originally, mettle was simply a variant spelling of the word metal (which dates to at least the 13th century), and it was used in all of the same senses as its metallic relative. Over time, however, mettle came to be used mainly in figurative senses referring to the quality of someone's character. It eventually became a distinct English word in its own right, losing its literal sense altogether. Metal remained a term primarily used for those hard, shiny substances such as steel or iron, but it also acquired a figurative use. Today, both words can mean "vigor and strength of spirit or temperament," but only metal is used of metallic substances.
Examples of mettle in a Sentence
Lenny Rashid Ruvaga, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Apr. 2024
That being said, there’s a lot to work with here and McCarthy’s intangibles, his championship mettle and ability to ramp up his focus late in games and on third downs, can’t be discounted.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mettle 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mettle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mettle
Cite this Entry
“Mettle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mettle. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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mettle
noun
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