doubt

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ The verb is derived from Middle English douten (“to be in doubt, feel unsure; to be afraid or worried; to hesitate; to be confused; to have respect or reverence”) [and other forms], from Old French douter, doter, duter (compare Middle French doubter), from Latin dubitāre (“to hesitate”), the present active infinitive of dubitō (“to be uncertain, doubt; to hesitate, waver in coming to an opinion; to consider, ponder”); the further etymology is uncertain, but one theory is that dubitō may be derived from dubius (“fluctuating, wavering; doubtful, dubious, uncertain”), from duhibius (“held as two”), from duo (“two”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”)) + habeō (“to have, hold”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”)). Although the Middle English form of the word was spelled without a b, this letter was later introduced through the influence of the Latin words dubitāre and dubitō. However, the English word continued to be pronounced without the b sound. The noun is derived from Middle English dout, doute (“uncertain feeling; questionable point; hesitation; anxiety, fear; reverence, respect; something to be feared, danger;”) [and other forms], from Old French doute, dote, dute (“uncertain feeling, doubt”), from doter, douter, duter (“to doubt; to be afraid of, fear”) (compare Middle French doubter; modern French douter (“to doubt; to suspect”)); see further etymology above. Displaced Old English twēo (“doubt”) and twēoġan (“to doubt”).

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To be undecided about; to lack confidence in; to disbelieve, to question.
   He doubted that was really what you meant.
   I had no wish to go, though I doubt if they would have noticed me even if I had.
   Ther be but two wayes onely. The one whiche by followyng the affections ledeth to perdicion. The other whyche throughe the mortifyenge of the fleſhe: ledeth to lyfe, why doubteſt thou in thy ſelf: There is no thyrde way. [1552?], Erasmus of Roterdame, “The Seconde Rule. Capitulo x.”, in William Tyndale], transl., Enchiridion Militis Christiani, which maye be Called in Englishe, the Hansome Weapon of a Christian Knight,[…], imprinted at London: […] [B]y [J. Day (?) for] Abraham Ueale, →OCLC
   And as for that faith, vvhich is vvithout vvorkes, and yet ſeemeth to thes men to be ſufficient for their ſaluation; he proteſteth, that it is ſo vnprofitable, as he doubteth not to ſaye of hymſelf; … 9 September 1585, “How a Man may Ivdge or Discerne of Him Self, vvhether He be a True Christian or Not.[…]”, in A Christian Directorie Gviding Men to Their Salvation. Devided into Three Bookes.[…], [Rouen: s.n.], →OCLC, pages 316–317
   Now it is not required nor can be exacted at our hands, that we ſhould yeeld vnto any thing other aſſent, then ſuch as doth anſwer the euidence which is to be had of that wee aſſent to. For which cauſe euen in matters diuine, concerning ſome things we may lawfully doubt and ſuſpend our iudgement, inclining neyther to one ſide or other, … 1594, Richard Hooker, “The Second Booke. Concerning Their First Position who Vrge Reformation in the Church of England: Namely, that Scripture is the Only Rule of All Things which in this Life may be Done by Men.”, in Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, Eight Bookes, London: Printed by William Stansbye, published 1622, →OCLC, page 73
   As to the efficacy of such legislation and taxation a word may be said. No one doubts that it is possible, by the employment of such methods, to make the rich poorer. … But the really important question—for all serious-minded inquirers—is whether the employment of these weapons will diminish the poverty or increase the prosperity of the relatively poor. 1913 June, J[ohn] A[rthur] R[ansome] Marriott, “The Problem of Poverty”, in The Nineteenth Century and After: A Monthly Review, volume LXXIII, number CCCCXXXVI, New York, N.Y.: Leonard Scott Publication Co.; London: Spottiswoode & Co. Ltd., printers, →OCLC, section III, page 1262
   And thus no longer trusting to His might, / Who saith we "walk by faith and not by sight," / Doubting, and almost yielding to despair, / The thought arose—My cross I cannot bear. 1915, [Gertrude Antoinette Woodcock Seibert], “The Changed Cross”, in Poems of Dawn, New York, N.Y., London: Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, →OCLC, page 170
   "Your philosophy is very pretty," Tom Douty said slowly, "but I can't help doubting that this is not the right time to start the new business." 1921 August, Howard P. Rockey, “The Doubting Thomas”, in Orison Swett Marden, editor, The New Success: Marden’s Magazine: A Magazine of Optimism, Self-help and Encouragement, volume V, number 8, New York, N.Y.: Lowrey-Marden Corporation, →OCLC, part I, page 76, column 2
   [B]oth colonisers and colonised lost faith in the colonisers' vision of the future. Europeans doubted whether their aims were attainable; Africans doubted whether they were desirable. 1979, John Iliffe, “The Crisis of Colonial Society, 1929–45”, in A Modern History of Tanganyika (African Studies Series; 25), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, published 1994, page 342
   In one study, 60% of Black students believed that their academic abilities were doubted by their White peers, and 60% felt that their White professors doubted them as well. 2011, Kent Koppelman, “Diversity and Discrimination: The Argument over Affirmative Action”, in The Great Diversity Debate: Embracing Pluralism in School and Society, New York, N.Y.: Teachers College Press, page 99
   We may doubt the just proportion of good to ill. There is much in nature against us. But we forget: Take nature altogether since time began, Including human nature, in peace and war, And it must be a little more in favor of man,[…] 2020-05-15, Robert Frost, Delphi Complete Works of Robert Frost (Illustrated) (Delphi Poets Series), Delphi Classics, →OCLC
2. (transitive, archaic) To harbour suspicion about; suspect.
3. (transitive, archaic) To anticipate with dread or fear; to apprehend.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To fill with fear; to affright.
5. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To dread, to fear.
   Edmond aþelstones broþer · after him was king · / Godmon & doutede · god þoru alle þing · Edmund, Æthelstan's brother · / after him was king · / [He was a] good man and feared · God through all things ·] [1297, Robert of Gloucester, “Edmond”, in William Aldis Wright, editor, The Metrical Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester.[…] (Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores; no. 86), part I (in Middle English), London: Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, by Eyre and Spottiswoode,[…], published 1887, →OCLC, page 408
   [H]ow many good Christians are there, who consider themselves the beloved of Christ & the invariable followers of his gospel, who with all his precepts in their mind go to Africa, wrest the mother from the infant—the father from the wife—chain them to the whip & lash, they & their posterity for ever, nay hold this scourge in their own hand & inflict it with all the gout of their abominable appetites, & who do not doubt that they are violating the whole doctrine of the author of their religion—To what absurdities may not the human mind bring itself when this can be thought by them less offensive to God, than eating meat on a friday? 27 February 1798, William Short, “From William Short, 27 February [letter to Thomas Jefferson]”, in Barbara B. Oberg, editor, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, volume 30 (1 January 1798 to 31 January 1799), Princeton, N.J., Woodstock, Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press, published 2003, page 152

noun

1. (uncountable, countable) Disbelief or uncertainty (about something); (countable) a particular instance of such disbelief or uncertainty.
   There was some doubt as to who the child's real father was.
   I have doubts about how to convert this code to JavaScript.
   After all, the search for such assurances will itself require us to marshall our cognitive resources. It will itself involve the use of methods about which we can sensibly have doubts, doubts that cannot be addressed without begging the question. 1990, Richard Foley, “Skepticism and Rationality”, in Michael D. Roth, Glenn Ross, editors, Doubting: Contemporary Perspectives on Skepticism (Philosophical Studies Series; 48), Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, →DOI, part 1 (Concessions), page 73
2. (countable, obsolete or India) A point of uncertainty; a query.
   It is entirely normal to hear a statement like "I have just one doubt, miss" or "If you have any doubts before the exam tomorrow, come see me in the staff room". The doubts in the aforementioned sentences are not as much rooted in a lack of faith as in a lack of understanding. July 12 2006 09:05 PM, Vishy, “Vishy's Indian English Dictionary: doubt”, in Vishy's Indian English Dictionary, archived from the original on 2008-03-09