Etymology The adjective is derived from Middle English doughty (“brave, bold, valiant”), from Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ (“competent, good, strong, valiant”), from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg. The English word may be analysed as dought + -y, and is cognate with Scots douchty, douchtie (“bold, valiant”), Dutch duchtig (“severe, strict”), German tüchtig (“capable, competent, efficient; big; hard”), Danish dygtig (“virtuous, proficient”), Swedish duktig (“efficient; good; capable, clever, smart”), Icelandic dygðugur (“virtuous, stable”). The noun is derived from the adjective.
Hurriedly he snatched up others, one or two at a time, until he had slaughtered thirty of Hrothgar's doughtiest earls.1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 21:
[S]he [Edwina, mother of Tennessee Williams] was indeed Amanda [Wingfield, character in Williams's play The Glass Menagerie] in the flesh: a doughty chatterbox from Ohio who adopted the manner of a Southern belle and eschewed both drink and sex to the greatest extent possible.2014 November 14, Blake Bailey, “‘Tennessee Williams,’ by John Lahr [print version: Theatrical victory of art over life, International New York Times, 18 November 2014, page 13]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Aug 2019:
Aye, here's a ship of doughty build and strong: But not for lads like you to sail to port.1937, Edward Mellor Jameson, Charterhouse:
One can imagine the enthusiasm with which this young man in his thirties, and not the fat and doughty Quakerish-looking gentleman usually portrayed in the popular picture of Penn as Proprietor, must have entered upon this great adventure.1956, Sylvester Kirby Stevens, Pennsylvania, The Keystone State:
2 more examples
The experience was something like going before the Daughters of the American Revolution and advocating communism; but then, doughty matronly bosoms always intimidate me.1964, Japan Quarterly:
Her remark invited a deeper look into her face, which seemed to flicker between that of a puckish, energetic man and a rather doughty, sturdy-looking woman.1997 December 22, Sarah Boxer, “At Dinner With: Jan Morris; Writer With a Favorite Theme: Reconciliation of Opposites”, in New York Times:
Etymology The adjective is derived from Middle English doughty (“brave, bold, valiant”), from Old English dohtiġ, dyhtiġ (“competent, good, strong, valiant”), from Proto-West Germanic *duhtīg. The English word may be analysed as dought + -y, and is cognate with Scots douchty, douchtie (“bold, valiant”), Dutch duchtig (“severe, strict”), German tüchtig (“capable, competent, efficient; big; hard”), Danish dygtig (“virtuous, proficient”), Swedish duktig (“efficient; good; capable, clever, smart”), Icelandic dygðugur (“virtuous, stable”). The noun is derived from the adjective.