stout

adj

Etymology: From Middle English stoute, from Old French estout (“brave, fierce, proud”) (Modern French dialectal stout (“proud”)), from earlier Old French estolt (“strong”), from Frankish *stolt, *stult (“bold, proud”), from Proto-Germanic *stultaz (“bold, proud”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to put, stand”). Cognate with Dutch stout (“stout, bold, naughty”), Low German stolt (“stately, proud”), German stolz (“proud, haughty, arrogant, stately”), Old Norse stoltr (“proud”) (Danish stolt (“proud”), Icelandic stoltur (“proud”)). Meaning "strong in body, powerfully built" was first attested in c. 1386, but has been to a large extent displaced by the euphemistic meaning "thick-bodied, fat and large," which is first recorded 1804. Original sense preserved in stout-hearted (1552). The noun "strong, dark-brown beer" is first recorded 1677, from the adjective.

1. Large; bulky.

   “Yossarian walked out of the office and down the stairs into the dark, tomblike street, passing in the hall the stout woman with warts and two chins, who was already on her way back in.”

2. Bold, strong-minded.

   “Art thou but Captaine of a thouſand horſe, That by Characters grauen in thy browes, And by thy martiall face and ſtout aſpect, Deſeru’ſt to haue the leading of an hoſte?”

   “a stouter champion never handled sword.”

3. Proud; haughty.

   “Your words have been stout against me.”

   “Commonly […] they that be rich are lofty and stout.”

4. Firm; resolute; dauntless.

   “he had reason to be extremely grateful to Sterling, his Manchester City teammate, who won and converted the penalty that appeared to have broken Iceland’s stout resistance.”

   “So, Andover featured in the Glorious Revolution, which involved the deposition of Catholic fraterniser James II and his replacement by stout Protestants William and Mary.”

5. Materially strong, enduring.

   “Campers prefer stout vessels, sticks and cloth.”

   “[…] Pipes, who acted as the enemy's forlorn hope, advanced to the gate with great intrepidity, and clapping his foot to the door, which was none of the ſtouteſt, with the execution and diſpatch of a petard, ſplit it into a thouſand pieces.”

6. Obstinate.

name

1. A surname.
2. A former town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States.
3. A minor city in Grundy County, Iowa, United States.
4. Synonym of Rome, Adams County, Ohio.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English stout, from Old English stūt (“gnat; midge”).

1. Gnat.
2. Gadfly.
3. Firefly or miller (moth).

verb

Etymology: From Middle English stouten, from the adjective (see above).

1. To be bold or defiant.
2. To persist, endure.