Hardiment

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhɑːdɪmənt/

Definitions

1. A manifestation of courage and boldness during perilous times
2. An exhibition of audacity and bravery when confronting threats or challenges
3. A clear display of bravery in the face of danger

Etymology: "Hardiment" is a Middle English borrowing from Old French, where it was formed from "hardi," meaning bold or daring. The French adjective had itself come down from a Germanic root that gave English words such as "hardy" and "hard," so the two English words share an ancestry even though one arrived by way of France. The "-ment" ending is the familiar French suffix that turns an adjective into a noun describing a quality or an act, much as "hardiness" or "boldness" do. The noun is the one English kept for a particular kind of courage: not a quiet steadiness but a visible show of nerve, the bold deed or dashing gesture that announces a person's fearlessness to onlookers. That public, performative sense is inherited directly from the French, where "hardiment" also carried the sense of boldly or daringly, and it explains why the English word sounds more like a spectacle than a virtue.

Synonyms: bravery, courage, boldness

Antonyms: cowardice, timidity