# stour

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈstɔː/ · frequency rank #75,451

## Definitions
1. Tall; big; stout.
2. Strong; powerful; hardy; robust; sturdy.
3. Bold; audacious.
4. Rough in manner; stern; austere; ill-tempered.
5. Rough; hoarse; deep-toned; harsh.
6. Inflexible, stiff.
7. Resolute; unyielding.

## Etymology
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”).
Cognates
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”), Albanian stër- (“big, huge”). Compare also stoor, steer, stately.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stour