fettle

/ˈfɛdl/

Other forms: fettled; fettling; fettles

Fettle is the state or condition you're in, especially if it's positive. You might describe your bouncy, healthy puppy as being in fine fettle.

You'll almost always see the adjective "fine" describing the noun fettle. Being in fine fettle means feeling good, being healthy, or having an energetic approach to something. A powerful speaker who gives a particularly rousing speech is in fine fettle, and an eighty-year-old marathon runner is also in fine fettle. In 1700s Lancashire dialect, fettle meant "to make ready," or "to prepare for battle," from the Old English word fetel, "belt or girdle."

Definitions of fettle

1. noun

   a state of fitness and good health
   “in fine fettle”

   type of:

   fitness, physical fitness

   good physical condition; being in shape or in condition
2. verb

   remove mold marks or sand from (a casting)
   type of:

   get rid of, remove

   dispose of