tough

tough
{{11}}tough (adj.) O.E. toh "difficult to break or chew," from P.Gmc. *tankhuz (Cf. M.L.G. tege, M.Du. taey, Du. taai, O.H.G. zach, Ger. zäh). See ROUGH (Cf. rough) for spelling change.
Figurative sense of "strenuous, difficult, hard to beat" is first recorded c.1200; that of "hard to do, trying, laborious" is from 1610s. Verb tough it "endure the experience" is first recorded 1830, American English. Tough guy first recorded 1932. Tough-minded first recorded 1907 in William James. Tough luck first recorded 1912; tough shit is from 1946.
{{12}}tough (n.) "street ruffian," 1866, American English, from TOUGH (Cf. tough) (adj.).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • tough´ly — tough «tuhf», adjective, adverb, noun, verb. –adjective. 1. bending without breaking: »Leather is tough; cardboard is not. 2. hard to cut, tear, or chew: »The steak was so tough, I couldn t eat it. 3. stiff; sticky: »tough clay …   Useful english dictionary

  • Tough — Tough, a. [Compar. {Tougher}; superl. {Toughest}.] [OE. tough, AS. t[=o]h, akin to D. taai, LG. taa, tage, tau, OHG. z[=a]hi, G. z[aum]he, and also to AS. getenge near to, close to, oppressive, OS. bitengi.] 1. Having the quality of flexibility… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tough — 高校鉄拳伝タフ/タフ (Koko Tekken den Tough/Tough) Genre action, comédie, arts martiaux, sport Manga : Koko Tekken den Tough Type Seinen Auteur Tetsuya Saruwatari …   Wikipédia en Français

  • tough — [tuf] adj. [ME < OE toh, akin to Ger zäh, tough, viscous, prob. < IE base * denk , to bite > TONGS] 1. strong but pliant; that will bend, twist, etc. without tearing or breaking 2. that will not cut or chew easily [tough steak] 3.… …   English World dictionary

  • Tough — may refer to: * Tough (manga), a Japanese manga series by Tetsuya Saruwatari * Tough (song), by country music artist Craig Morgan * Tough (Kurtis Blow album), a 1982 album by Kurtis Blow * Tough (Wishbone Ash album), a 2008 album by Wishbone Ash… …   Wikipedia

  • tough — 〈[ tʌ̣f] Adj.; umg.〉 hart, streng, tüchtig, selbstsicher, bestimmt ● die Verhandlungen waren sehr tough; ihr Auftreten ist tough [engl., „hart, zäh“] * * * tough [taf ; engl. tough, verw. mit ↑ zäh], taff [jidd. toff < hebr. tôv = gut] <Adj …   Universal-Lexikon

  • tough — tough; tough·en; tough·ie; tough·ish; tough·ly; tough·ness; …   English syllables

  • tough — [adj1] sturdy, strong brawny, cohesive, conditioned, dense, durable, fibrous, firm, fit, flinty, hard, hard as nails*, hard bitten*, hardened, hardy, healthy, indigestible, inflexible, leathery, lusty, mighty, molded, resilient, resistant, rigid …   New thesaurus

  • tough´en|er — tough|en «TUHF uhn», transitive verb. to make tough or tougher: »He toughened his muscles by doing exercises. –v.i. to become tough or tougher: »His muscles finally toughened. –tough´en|er, noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • tough|en — «TUHF uhn», transitive verb. to make tough or tougher: »He toughened his muscles by doing exercises. –v.i. to become tough or tougher: »His muscles finally toughened. –tough´en|er, noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • Tough —    TOUGH, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 5 miles (S. E. by E.) from Alford; containing 762 inhabitants. This place is situated partly in the northern and western portions of the Corrennie range, or Red hill, and partly… …   A Topographical dictionary of Scotland

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