stour

1 of 2

adjective

ˈstu̇r 

1

chiefly Scotland : strong, hardy

2

chiefly Scotland : stern, harsh

stour

2 of 2

noun

1

a

archaic : battle, conflict

b

dialectal British : tumult, uproar

2

chiefly Scotland : dust, powder

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English stour, store, sture "strong, powerful, violent, fierce, harsh, great in numbers, large," going back to late Old English stor "violent," borrowed from the Old Norse predecessor of Old Icelandic stórr "big, great," going back to Germanic *stōra- (whence also Old Frisian stōr "big, much," Old Saxon stōri "renowned"), going back to Indo-European *steh₂uro- (assuming Germanic *ōu̯ is shortened to ō), adjective derivative from the verbal base *steh₂- "stand"; also from *steh₂uro- (by laryngeal metathesis to *steu̯h₂ro-) Sanskrit stáviraḥ "broad, thick, coarse"; from zero-grade ablaut *sth₂uró- Sanskrit sthūráḥ "big, strong, thick"; from full grade of the base and suffix *steh₂u̯er- Sanskrit sthāvaráḥ "fixed, permanent, lasting"; from a base without *-u- Old Church Slavic starŭ "old," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian stȁr, definite stȃrī, Lithuanian stóras "thick, fat" — more at stand entry 1

Note: Middle English sture, not a common variant, appears to be of distinct origin, and is perhaps cognate with Middle Dutch stuur "strong, powerful," Old High German stūr "strong, big."

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French estur, estour, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German sturm storm, battle — more at storm

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for stour

• boor
• cour
• cure
• jure
• lure
• moor
• pure
• spoor
• sure
• tour
• abjure
• adjure

Geographical Definition

Stour

geographical name

ˈstu̇r  ˈstau̇r 

ˈstau̇-ər,

ˈstȯr;

 specific variants can be found at senses below 

1

ˈstu̇r  river 47 miles (76 kilometers) long in southeastern England flowing east between Essex and Suffolk into the North Sea

2

ˈstau̇r 

ˈstu̇r

river 55 miles (88 kilometers) long in Dorset and Hampshire, southern England, flowing southeast into the Avon River

3

or Great Stour

ˈstu̇r,

also

ˈstau̇(-ə)r 

river 40 miles (64 kilometers) long in Kent, southeastern England, flowing northeast into the North Sea

4

ˈstau̇(-ə)r 

ˈstȯr

river 20 miles (32 kilometers) long in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, central England, flowing northwest into the Avon River

5

ˈstau̇(-ə)r 

ˈstȯr

river 20 miles (32 kilometers) long in west central England flowing south into the Severn River