douth

noun /daʊθ/

1. Virtue; excellence; atheldom; nobility; power; riches.

   obsolete, uncountable

2. A group of people, especially an army or retinue.

   obsolete, uncountable

3. Reliability; ease; security; shelter.

   uncountable

   There's no^([sic]) much douth in a wire fence.

Where it comes from

From Middle English douthe, douth, duweðe (“body of retainers, people, might, dignity, worth”), from Old English duguþ (“manhood, host, multitude, troops”), from Proto-West Germanic *dugunþu, *dugunþi, from Proto-Germanic *dugunþō (“power, competency, notefulness, virtue”), from *duganą (“to be useful”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewgʰ- (“to be ready, be sufficient”). Cognate with North Frisian døgd, døged (“ability, good deed”), Dutch deugd (“virtue”), German Tugend (“virtue”), Swedish dygd (“virtue”), Danish dyd (“virtue”), Icelandic dygð, dyggð (“virtue”). Related to dow, doughty.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry douth (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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