stour

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See also: Stour

English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English store, stoor, stour (tall, powerful), from Old English stōr (tall, great, mighty, strong), from Proto-West Germanic *stōr, from Proto-Germanic *stōraz, *stōrijaz (great, big, strong), from Proto-Indo-European *stā-r-, *stō-r- (steadfast, firm; standing tall; big, bulky).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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stour (comparative more stour, superlative most stour)

  1. (now rare outside dialects) Tall; large; stout.
  2. (now rare outside dialects) Strong; powerful; hardy; robust; sturdy.
  3. (now rare outside dialects) Bold; audacious.
  4. (now rare outside dialects) Rough in manner; stern; austere; ill-tempered.
  5. (now rare outside dialects, of a voice) Rough; hoarse; deep-toned; harsh.
  6. (now rare outside dialects, of cloth, land, etc.) Inflexible, stiff.
  7. (obsolete) Resolute; unyielding.
Derived terms
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Noun

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stour (plural stours)

  1. (UK dialectal, Ulster) A blowing or deposit of dust; dust in motion or at rest; dust in general.

Adverb

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stour (comparative more stour, superlative most stour)

  1. (now chiefly dialectal) Severely; strongly.

Etymology 2

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From Middle English stoure, stourre, from Old Norse staurr (a stake, pale), from Proto-Germanic *stauraz (pole, support), from Proto-Indo-European *stā- (to stand, place). Cognate with Icelandic staur (a stake, pole), Ancient Greek σταυρός (staurós, a stake, cross).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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stour (plural stours)

  1. A stake.
  2. A round of a ladder.
  3. A stave in the side of a wagon.
  4. A large pole by which barges are propelled against the stream; a poy.

Etymology 3

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From Middle English stour, stor (conflict) from Anglo-Norman estur (conflict, struggle), from Old French estour, estor, estorme, estourmie, estormie (battle, assault, conflict, tumult), from Vulgar Latin *estorma, *storma (battle, conflict, storm), from Frankish *sturm (storm, commotion, battle), from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz (storm). Akin to Old High German sturm (battle, storm). More at storm.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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stour (plural stours)

  1. (obsolete) An armed battle or conflict.
    • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: [] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur [], London: David Nutt, [], 1889, →OCLC:
      , Book V:
      Then there began a passyng harde stoure, for the Romaynes ever wexed ever bygger.
    • 1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso, XII, xv:
      This pair, who past have many a dreadful stour, / And proffer now to prove this venture stout, / Alone to this attempt let them go forth, / Alone than thousands of more price and worth.
  2. (obsolete) A time of struggle or stress.
  3. (now dialectal) Tumult, commotion; confusion.

Verb

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stour (third-person singular simple present stours, present participle stouring, simple past and past participle stoured)

  1. Alternative form of stoor

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Adjective

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stour

  1. Alternative form of store