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stalwart

stal·wartUK /ˈstɔːl.wət/adjective, noun

stalwart is spelled S-T-A-L-W-A-R-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables (stal·wart). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, stalwart means “Firmly or solidly built” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in stalwart?

Letters8: S-T-A-L-W-A-R-T
Syllables2: stal·wart
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is stalwart?

Stalwart appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce stalwart?

  • UK /ˈstɔːl.wət/
  • UK /ˈstɒl-/
  • British /ˈstoːl.wət/

Stalwart has 2 syllables, split stal·wart in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-stalwart.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of stalwart

  • more stalwart comparative
  • most stalwart superlative
  • stalwarts plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does stalwart mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Firmly or solidly built.

  2. 2

    Courageous.

  3. 3

    Determined; staunch.

noun

  1. 1

    One who has a strong build.

  2. 2

    One who firmly supports a cause.

  3. 3

    One who is dependable.

    The party's staunchest stalwarts constitute the President's redoubtable bulwark against the latter bribery accusations.

noun

as Stalwart
  1. 1

    A member of the former Stalwarts Republican party of the United States during the Gilded Age.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Stalwart in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrobuste (firmly or solidly built), courageux, vaillant (courageous), pilier (one who firmly supports a cause)
Germankräftig, robust, handfest, unerschütterlich (firmly or solidly built), tapfer, unentwegt (courageous)
Portugueserobusto (firmly or solidly built)
Spanishrobusto (firmly or solidly built), corajudo, valiente (courageous)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does stalwart come from?

Borrowed from Scots stalwart under the influence of Walter Scott, displacing earlier stalworth, wherewith it forms a doublet. From Middle English stal-worth (“physically strong, hardy, robust; brave, courageous”), from Old English stǣlwierþe (“able to stand in good stead, serviceable”), probably from staþol (“establishment; foundation”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”)) or stǣl (“place; condition, stead”) + -wierþe (“able to, capable of”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to rotate, turn”)).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after stalwart