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valor

[val-er]
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noun
  1. boldness or determination in facing great danger, especially in battle; heroic courage; bravery: a medal for valor.
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Also especially British, val·our.

Origin of valor

1350–1400; Middle English valo(u)r < Anglo-French; Middle French valeur < Late Latin valōr-, stem of valor worth, equivalent to Latin val(ēre) to be of worth + -or -or1

Synonyms

See more synonyms for valor on Thesaurus.com
intrepidity, spirit.

Synonym study

See courage.

Antonyms

cowardice.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for valour

Historical Examples

  • This they did as a recompense for our valour and devotion in our country's service.

    Stories from Thucydides

    H. L. Havell

  • It is perhaps as high a form of valour to endure as to dare.

  • Duerot has tried his hardest to sup in Lagny, and has been balked by German valour.

  • Ziska bequeathed his skin to be used as a drum to inspire the valour of the Bohemians.

    Self-Help

    Samuel Smiles

  • I am the steel, d'ye see, which knocks the valour out of your flint.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for valour

valour

US valor

noun
  1. courage or bravery, esp in battle
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Derived Formsvalorous, adjectivevalorously, adverb

Word Origin

C15: from Late Latin valor, from valēre to be strong
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for valour

n.

chiefly British English spelling of valor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or.

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valor

n.

c.1300, "value, worth," from Old French valour "strength, value, valor," from Late Latin valorem (nominative valor) "value, worth," from stem of Latin valere "be worth, be strong" (see valiant). The meaning "courage" is first recorded 1580s, from Italian valore, from the same Late Latin word. (The Middle English word also had a sense of "worth or worthiness in respect of manly qualities").

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with valour

valor

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.