prowess
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English prowesse, prouwesse, proues, prouesce, prouesse (“bravery in battle; act of bravery; excellence; nobility of character; intelligence”), from Old French proeche, proesce, proeësche (“goodness; excellence; bravery”), from Old French preu, prou, prouz, proz, pruz (“good; excellent; brave”). Compare English proud.
Inflected forms:
form: prowesses
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Skillfulness or extraordinary ability in a particular area of expertise; dexterity, mastery, or proficiency.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: When in liquor he would make foolish wagers. On one of these too frequent occasions he was boasting of his prowess as a pedestrian and athlete, and the outcome was a match against nature. For a stake of one sovereign he undertook to run all the way to Coventry and back, a distance of something more than forty miles.
There is such a sense of inferiority sometimes when it comes to facing Germany, with all their World Cups, their penalty prowess and easy sophistication, it might come as a surprise to learn that, in head-to-head encounters, England actually match their opponents.
gloss: Distinguished bravery or courage, especially in battle; heroism.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: That libertie Poets of late in their invectives have exceeded: they have borne their ſword up where it is not lawfull for a poynado, that is but the page of proweſſe, to intermeddle.
[…] But, wroth because this man in full assembly, / Came and reviled thee, thou wouldst shew thy prowess, / The prowess that attends thee, that henceforth / Not e'er a man might think to scorn thy prowess, […]
A beautiful great lady, past her prime, / Behold her dreaming in her easy chair; / Grey robed, and veiled, in laces old and rare, / Her smiling eyes see but the vanished time / Of splendid prowess, and of deeds sublime.
gloss: An act of prowess.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: I recollect hearing […] of his [Sir William Hamilton's] simple, independent, meditative habits, ruggedly athletic modes of exercise, fondness for his big dog, etc. etc.: […] I did not witness, much less share in, any of the swimming or other athletic prowesses.
As the Middle Ages drew to a close and the Renaissance rose like a new sun, knowledge of philosophy and the sciences became objects of interest to a nobility that had once held only skill in battle as a prowess worth attaining.
gloss: An act of prowess.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: Thenne the batails approuched and ſhoue and ſhowted on bothe ſydes / many men ouerthrowen / hurte / & ſlayn and grete valyaunces / proweſſes and appertyces of werre were that day ſhewed […]
If it is deemed of so much importance, why has no attention been paid to the effects of general friendship, such as certain military prowesses, in which you see a portion of a regiment sacrifice itself in support of another portion?
Related words: prow
Derived words: prowessed
superprowess
Translations:
lang: Armenian
word: խիզախություն
roman: xizaxutʻyun
lang: Bulgarian
word: храброст
roman: hrabrost
lang: Czech
word: hrdinství
lang: Czech
word: neohroženost
lang: Czech
word: odvaha
lang: Dutch
word: heldenmoed
lang: Dutch
word: dapperheid
lang: Esperanto
word: braveco
lang: Finnish
word: sankaruus
lang: Finnish
word: urheus
lang: French
word: prouesse
lang: French
word: héroïsme
lang: French
word: exploit
lang: French
word: fait d'armes
lang: French
word: haut fait
lang: Galician
word: proeza
lang: German
word: Heldenmut
lang: German
word: Tapferkeit
lang: Greek
word: ανδρεία
roman: andreía
lang: Irish
word: calmacht
lang: Italian
word: prodezza
lang: Japanese
word: 武勇
roman: buyū
lang: Korean
word: 무용
roman: muyong
lang: Māori
word: riri
lang: Portuguese
word: proeza
lang: Russian
word: хра́брость
roman: xrábrostʹ
lang: Russian
word: у́даль
roman: údalʹ
lang: Russian
word: отва́га
roman: otvága
lang: Sanskrit
word: शवस्
roman: śavas
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: одважност
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: odvažnost
lang: Spanish
word: proeza
lang: Swedish
word: tapperhet
lang: Swedish
word: hjältemod
lang: Turkish
word: cesaret
lang: Turkish
word: kahramanlık
lang: Turkish
word: yiğitlik
lang: Turkish
word: yüreklilik
lang: Dutch
word: heldendaad
lang: Spanish
word: proeza