Ondauntit

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Showing fearless courage and resolve when facing danger, hardship or opposition, as used in Scots
2. Describing a person who remains bold and unshaken in the face of trouble or threat
3. Keeping a brave and steady spirit, unafraid and unbowed by hardship or intimidation

Etymology: "Ondauntit" is a Middle Scots adjective, and its story turns on a borrowing from French that Scots made its own. It comes from the Old French "desfaunter" (to lose courage, from "des-" meaning "away" plus a root linked to the Latin "domitare", to tame), which English adapted as "daunt" in the 14th century. The Scots form "dant" or "dont" carried the sense of subduing or overawing, and adding the prefix "on-", a negative like English "un-", produced a word meaning not subdued by fear. The word is most associated with Scottish writers of the 15th and 16th centuries, and the "on-" prefix shows how Scots built negatives on its own pattern rather than relying only on the English "un-". Because of that, it reads as a distinctly Scottish term even though its parts are shared with English.