Grit

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ɡɹɪt/

Definitions

1. Small, rough particles of sand or stone, or the quality of having courage and determination in difficult situations
2. Tiny, hard fragments of stone or sand that have a rough texture; the mental strength to endure hardship and maintain effort
3. Granular pieces of rock or sand that are often abrasive; the quality of showing firmness and resilience when facing challenges

Etymology: Grit began as two separate words that merged over centuries. One line runs through Old English "grēot", meaning dust or coarsely ground material, which became Middle English "grete" and "griet" and, with a later vowel shortening in early modern English, the "grit" we use now. This older sense of finely broken-down matter is the one behind the word's sense of tiny hard particles, and the word is related to "grist", the grain that is ground at a mill. A second line comes from Old English "grytt", meaning bran or chaff, which passed into Middle English as "gryt". Its ancestor in Proto-West Germanic, "gruti", referred to coarsely ground bits. The two lines are so closely related that they were absorbed into one spelling, and the modern word covers both the fine powder and the coarser husks.

Synonyms: determination, perseverance, courage, tenacity, resolve

Antonyms: cowardice, fear, timidity, weakness, indecision