The quality of being game; bravery, courage, or willingness to face danger or difficulty.
From 'game' (brave, determined) + '-ness' (suffix forming abstract nouns). Became common in 19th-century English to describe courage.
During the American Civil War, soldiers' 'gameness' was constantly praised in newspapers—it was the era's way of describing what we'd now call resilience or mental toughness, and it was essential for surviving the horrific conditions.
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