doubt

doubt
doubt (v.) early 13c., "to dread, fear," from O.Fr. doter "doubt, be doubtful; be afraid," from L. dubitare "to doubt, question, hesitate, waver in opinion" (related to dubius "uncertain;" see DUBIOUS (Cf. dubious)), originally "to have to choose between two things." The sense of "fear" developed in O.Fr. and was passed on to English. Meaning "to be uncertain" is attested in English from c.1300. The -b- was restored 14c. by scribes in imitation of Latin. Replaced O.E. tweogan (noun twynung), from tweon "two," on notion of "of two minds" or the choice of two implied in Latin dubitare (Cf. Ger. Zweifel "doubt," from zwei "two"). The noun doubt is early 13c., from O.Fr. dote (11c.) "fear, dread; doubt."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Doubt — • A state in which the mind is suspended between two contradictory propositions and unable to assent to either of them Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Doubt     Doubt      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • doubt — doubt·able; doubt·er; doubt·ful·ly; doubt·ful·ness; doubt·ing·ly; doubt·ing·ness; doubt·less·ness; doubt·some; re·doubt·able; re·doubt·ably; re·doubt·ed; un·doubt·ed·ly; un·doubt·ing·ly; doubt; doubt·ful; doubt·less; mis·doubt; re·doubt;… …   English syllables

  • doubt — I (indecision) noun ambiguity, anxiety, apprehension, apprehensiveness, confusion, dubitatio, dubito, faltering, feeling of uncertainty, hesitancy, improbability, inability to decide, incertitude, indefiniteness, indeterminateness,… …   Law dictionary

  • Doubt — Doubt, n. [OE. dute, doute, F. doute, fr. douter to doubt. See {Doubt}, v. i.] 1. A fluctuation of mind arising from defect of knowledge or evidence; uncertainty of judgment or mind; unsettled state of opinion concerning the reality of an event,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Doubt — Doubt, v. t. 1. To question or hold questionable; to withhold assent to; to hesitate to believe, or to be inclined not to believe; to withhold confidence from; to distrust; as, I have heard the story, but I doubt the truth of it. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • doubt — verb. 1. I doubt whether he ll come and I doubt if he ll come are the standard constructions when doubt is used in the affirmative to mean ‘think it unlikely’. When doubt is used in the negative to mean ‘think it likely’, a that clause is normal …   Modern English usage

  • doubt — [dout] vi. [ME douten < OFr douter < L dubitare, to waver in opinion < dubius, DUBIOUS; b reintroduced, after L, in 16th c.] 1. to be uncertain in opinion or belief; be undecided 2. to be inclined to disbelief 3. Archaic to hesitate vt.… …   English World dictionary

  • Doubt — (dout), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Doubted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Doubting}.] [OE. duten, douten, OF. duter, doter, douter, F. douter, fr. L. dubitare; akin to dubius doubtful. See {Dubious}.] 1. To waver in opinion or judgment; to be in uncertainty as to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • doubt — ► NOUN ▪ a feeling of uncertainty. ► VERB 1) feel uncertain about. 2) question the truth of. ● no doubt Cf. ↑no doubt DERIVATIVES doubter …   English terms dictionary

  • doubt — [n] lack of faith, conviction; questioning agnosticism, ambiguity, apprehension, confusion, demurral, difficulty, diffidence, dilemma, disbelief, discredit, disquiet, distrust, dubiety, dubiousness, faithlessness, faltering, fear, hesitancy,… …   New thesaurus

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