Stour
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stour¹
- /ˈstɔː/ UK
- /ˈstʊə/ UK
- /ˈstɔɹ/ US
- /ˈstʊɚ/ US
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ), -ʊə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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.
adjective more stour · most stour · stoor · stoore · stoure · stowr
- Tall; big; stout.
- Strong; powerful; hardy; robust; sturdy.
- Bold; audacious.
- Rough in manner; stern; austere; ill-tempered.
- Rough; hoarse; deep-toned; harsh.
- Inflexible, stiff. A fenny gooſe, even as her fleſhe is blacker, ſtoorer, unholſomer, ſo is her feather, for the ſame cauſe, courſer, ſtoorer, and rougher, and therefore I have heard very good fletchers ſay, that the ſecond fether in ſome place is better than the pinion in other ſome.
- Resolute; unyielding.
noun stours · stoor · stoore · stoure · stowr · stuir
- A blowing or deposit of dust; dust in motion or at rest; dust in general.
adverb more stour · most stour · stoor · stoore · stoure · stowr
- Severely; strongly.
stour²
- /ˈstaʊə/ UK
- /ˈstaʊ.ə/ UK
- /ˈstaʊɚ/ US
- /ˈstaʊɹ/ US
Rhymes with -aʊə(ɹ), -aʊə, -aʊɹ
Where it comes from
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 stours
- A stake.
- A round of a ladder.
- A stave in the side of a wagon.
- A large pole by which barges are propelled against the stream; a poy.
stour³
- /ˈstɔː/ UK
- /ˈstʊə/ UK
- /ˈstɔɹ/ US
- /ˈstʊ(ə)ɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ), -ʊə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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 stours
- An armed battle or conflict. Then there began a passyng harde stoure, for the Romaynes ever wexed ever bygger.
- A time of struggle or stress. Then gan she waile and weepe, to see that woefull stowre.
- Tumult, commotion; confusion.
verb stours · stouring · stoured
- Alternative form of stoor.stoor
Stour⁴
- /ˈstaʊəɹ/
- /ˈstʊəɹ/ East Anglia
- /ˈstaʊɹ/ East Anglia
Where it comes from
Most of the rivers' names are from the root of stour (“powerful, tall, large”), though some may have been borrowed through and influenced by Celtic (compare Welsh dŵr (“water”).
proper noun
- A river in Dorset, England, which flows into the English Channel at Christchurch.
- A river in Kent, England, running from the confluence of the Great Stour and Little Stour to the English Channel at Pegwell Bay.
- A river in Essex and Suffolk, England, flowing into the North Sea at Harwich. The Stour is at its lowest ebb, and the sheen of the flats makes it difficult to tell where ground ends and water begins, out in the bay.
- A river in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, England, which joins the Warwickshire Avon near Stratford-on-Avon.
- A river in Staffordshire, West Midlands, and Worcestershire, England, which flows into the River Severn.
