doggedness meaning

doggedness meaning

Doggedness is a quality of being stubborn and persistent, like the doggedness of a skateboarder attempting a new trick over and over again until they get it just right.

When this word was first used in the 14th century, it meant “with the qualities of a dog,” but not in a good way — to be dogged was to act nasty or surly, and doggedness was a quality of cruelty, like a really mean dog might have. Both words evolved over the years and now imply persistence and tenacity, like a dog digging determinedly for a bone it has buried in the yard.