stour

See also: Stour

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English store, stoor, stour (“tall, powerful”), from Old English stōr (“tall, great, mighty, strong”), from Proto-Germanic *stōraz, *stōrijaz (“great, big, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *stār-, *stōr- (“big, bulky”). Akin to Scots stour (“tall, large, great, stout”), Saterland Frisian stor (“great, many”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian stor (“large, great”), Icelandic stórr (“large, tall”), Polish stary (“old, ancient”) and probably Albanian shtoj (“I add, increase”). Compare also stoor, steer, stately.

Alternative forms

Adjective

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.
    O stronge lady stoor, what doest thou?--Chaucer.
  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 land or cloth) Stiff; inflexible.
  7. (obsolete) Resolute; unyielding.
    In a stour wise.
Derived terms
  • stourly
  • stourness

Adverb

stour (comparative more stour, superlative most stour)

  1. (Now chiefly dialectal) Severely; strongly.

Etymology 2

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”).

Noun

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

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.

Noun

stour (plural stours)

  1. (obsolete) An armed battle or conflict.
    • 1485 July 31, Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: William Caxton], OCLC 71490786; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur, London: Published by David Nutt, in the Strand, 1889, OCLC 890162034:
      , 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.
  4. (Britain dialectal, Ulster) A blowing or deposit of dust; dust in motion or at rest; dust in general.

Verb

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

  1. Alternative form of stoor

Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Adjective

stour

  1. Alternative form of store
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