daunt

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɔːnt/ (UK); /dɔnt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English daunten,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French danter,^[2][5][3] a variant of donter,^[5][3][6] from Latin domitare (“to tame”),^{[2][5][3][4][6]} a frequentative of Latin domare (“to tame”).^[2][5][3][4] It is related to tame.^[5][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To overcome, subdue or vanquish a foe (about 1300).^[7][5][3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the verb could also mean to tame an animal, to soothe a child, or to quell one's temper,^[3][7] and even to fondle or caress.^[7] The sense of discouraging or frightening someone appears early in the 14th century (before 1325 in Barnhart; about 1475 in the OED)^[3][5][7] and is the only one that survives.^[7][4] Dauntless dates from 1593.^[5]

Timeline

• c1300 – to overcome, subdue.^[7][5][3]
• 1303 – to fondle, caress (obsolete).^[7]
• before 1325 – to frighten or discourage.^[5]
• 1377 – to tame an animal (obsolete).^[7]
• 1593 – dauntless.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To lessen the courage of; to dishearten or discourage.
2. To overcome with fear; to intimidate.

Word family

• daunter
• dauntingly
• dauntingness
• daunting
• dauntless
• undaunted

Related words

• tame
• domesticate
• indomitable

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press