Stamina

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈstæmɪnə/

Definitions

1. The capacity to maintain prolonged physical or mental effort is important for enduring challenging situations or activities
2. It denotes the power to sustain physical exertion and resist fatigue in demanding circumstances
3. The ability to endure extended physical or mental exertion while resisting weariness is crucial for achieving goals

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "stamina" is that it is a plural. Latin "stāmina" was the plural of "stāmen", a word for the warp threads stretched on a loom, the lengthwise fibres that the weaver's shuttle crossed. Those threads were the foundation of the fabric, and the Romans used the word for the threads of life as well, as the Fates were imagined spinning and measuring them. English borrowed the plural form directly, and for a long time "stamina" was treated as the name for a thread-like fibre or the basic constituents of something. Its sense then moved from the physical threads of cloth toward the vital strength that sustains a living body, so that a person's "stamina" came to mean the inner fibre that holds them up through a long ordeal. Because it was a plural from the start, English speakers have sometimes treated it as a singular noun, which is why "stamina" is now used as a mass noun for endurance, with no plural in ordinary use.

Synonyms: endurance, perseverance, fortitude, resilience, vitality

Antonyms: fatigue, weakness, laziness, inactivity, apathy