prowess

Etymology

From Middle English prowesse, prouwesse, proues, prouesce, prouesse (“bravery in battle; act of bravery; excellence; nobility of character; intelligence”), from Old French proeche, proesce, proeësche (“goodness; excellence; bravery”), from Old French preu, prou, prouz, proz, pruz (“good; excellent; brave”). Compare English proud.

noun

1. (uncountable) Skillfulness and manual ability; adroitness or dexterity.
   When in liquor he would make foolish wagers. On one of these too frequent occasions he was boasting of his prowess as a pedestrian and athlete, and the outcome was a match against nature. For a stake of one sovereign he undertook to run all the way to Coventry and back, a distance of something more than forty miles. 14 October 1888, Ambrose Bierce, “An Unfinished Race”, in The San Francisco Examiner, →OCLC; republished in Can Such Things Be?, Washington, D.C.: The Neale Publishing Company, 1903, →OCLC, page 313
   There is such a sense of inferiority sometimes when it comes to facing Germany, with all their World Cups, their penalty prowess and easy sophistication, it might come as a surprise to learn that, in head-to-head encounters, England actually match their opponents. 10 November 2017, Daniel Taylor, “Youthful England earn draw with Germany but Lingard rues late miss”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2018-03-28
2. (uncountable) Distinguished bravery or courage, especially in battle; heroism.
   […] But, wroth because this man in full assembly, / Came and reviled thee, thou wouldst shew thy prowess, / The prowess that attends thee, that henceforth / Not e'er a man might think to scorn thy prowess, […] 1863, Homer, translated by T[homas] S[tarling] Norgate, The Odyssey; or, The Ten Years’ Wandering of Odusseus, after the Ten Years’ Siege of Troy. Reproduced in Dramatic Blank Verse, London: Williams and Norgate,[…], →OCLC, page 158
   A beautiful great lady, past her prime, / Behold her dreaming in her easy chair; / Grey robed, and veiled, in laces old and rare, / Her smiling eyes see but the vanished time / Of splendid prowess, and of deeds sublime. 1910, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “England, Awake!”, in Poems of Experience, London: Gay & Hancock, Ltd., 12 and 13 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, published 1917, →OCLC, page 38; republished as More Poems, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart Publishers, 1919, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 246
3. (countable) An act of prowess.
   1. An act of adroitness or dexterity.
      I recollect hearing […] of his [Sir William Hamilton's] simple, independent, meditative habits, ruggedly athletic modes of exercise, fondness for his big dog, etc. etc.: […] I did not witness, much less share in, any of the swimming or other athletic prowesses. 1869 July, “Art. VI.—Memoir of Sir William Hamilton, Bart., Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh. By John Veitch, M.A., Professor of Logic and Rhetoric in the University of Glasgow. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1869.”, in The North British Review, volume L, number C, Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas, →OCLC, page 493
      As the Middle Ages drew to a close and the Renaissance rose like a new sun, knowledge of philosophy and the sciences became objects of interest to a nobility that had once held only skill in battle as a prowess worth attaining. 2007, Christopher Hodapp, “From Darkness to Light”, in Richard Harris, editor, Solomon’s Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington, D.C., Berkeley, Calif.: Ulysses Press, pages 35–36
   2. An act of distinguished bravery or courage; a heroic deed.
      If it is deemed of so much importance, why has no attention been paid to the effects of general friendship, such as certain military prowesses, in which you see a portion of a regiment sacrifice itself in support of another portion? 1851, Charles Fourier, “Ulterlogue”, in Hugh Doherty, transl., The Passions of the Human Soul, and Their Influence on Society and Civilization. […] In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Hippolyte Bailliere,[…], →OCLC, page 88