stourn.1
/stʊə/, U.S. /stʊ(ə)r/ I. A conflict or fight.† 2. figurative.† b. A conflict waged with immaterial weapons; a struggle with pain or adversity. Obsolete.† 3. † b. Used by Greene, Lodge, and others, probably by misapprehension of Spenser, for: Occasion, place. Obsolete.
1. † b. Phrases. stiff, stith, strong in stour; also rarely good, fast, bold in stour. Obsolete.
a. An armed combat or conflict; esp. a contest in battle; a fight. Obsolete exc. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed encounter > [noun]
fightc893
coursec1325
stourc1325
acounterc1330
meetingc1330
setc1330
showera1375
brusha1400
semblya1400
hosting1422
poynyec1425
conflictc1440
militancea1460
grate1460
rencounter1471
chaplea1500
flitea1513
concourse?1520
concursion1533
rescounter1543
spurnc1560
rencontrea1572
discourse1573
action1579
combat1582
opposition1598
do1915
c1325 Metr. Hom. 23 Bot werdes haht and hey tures Getes thir cite men fra stures.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 730 Lordynges..þat fledde fro þe grete stour.
c1386 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 380 She that helmed was in starke stoures [Ellesmere shoures] And wan by force townes stronge and toures.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7752, l. 7753 Gain saul þai gaf batail strang... In hard strur [sic] þai samen mett, Ful snaip it was þair stur and snell.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7466 A man o þair gains an of vr, If vrs mai him win in stur [Fairf. stoure, Gött. stours, Trin. Cambr. stoures].
c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode (1869) ii. civ. 113 I am ladi and..constablesse of alle stoures in cheuachyes, ther as baners ben desplayed.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) i. 42 Moche grete and merueyllouse was the stoure, and the bataill soo fyers.
a1525 Ballat Our Lady in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 271 Quhilk with mony bludy woundis in to stowre Victoriusly discomfit þe dragoun.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy Prol. 28 Now of Troy forto selle..Of the stoure & þe stryffe when it distroyet was.
1592 W. Wyrley Lord Chandos in True Vse Armorie i Prooued knights In martial feats and battelous stoure.
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion xvi. 247 Those braue spirits in all those balefull stowres, That with Duke Robert went against the Pagan powers.
1667 J. M'Kenzie in Highland Papers (1916) II. 22 Both parties met wt a terrible stour fighting handsomlie on both sides.
1803 W. S. Rose tr. Amadis de Gaule 96 Man to man, and horse to horse oppos'd, the stower began.
1808 W. Scott Marmion iv. xxxii. 222 When joins yon host in deadly stowre.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality viii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 162 ‘Then ye saw a bonny stour,’ said Cuddie, ‘that sall serve me for fighting a' the days o' my life.’
1846 C. G. Prowett tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound 21 Whose pointed lances on their foes Bear down the battle's stour.
1904 J. Parkinson Lays Love & War 81 War unto him is his birthright, The stour of the battle his breath.
ΚΠ
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1725) 6 A stiffe knyght in stoure.
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1725) 213 Edward & Edmunde, knyght gode in stoure.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 1270 The knyght was faire and styf in stour.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2203 Nembrot..O babilon king stijf in stur.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 18181 Sua stith [Vesp. stijf] in sture, and king of bliss, Dede and alsua liuand es.
a1400 Minor Poems from Vernon MS lv. 37 Þer nis non so strong in stour,..From þat day forþ,..Of his strengþe he leost a quantite.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxv. 327 He is..of so mekill myght, And styf in euery stoure.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 1642 Welcom, sir knyght, That fast art in stoure.
1508 W. Dunbar Ballade Barnard Stewart in Poems (1998) I. 177 Welcum, in stour most strong, incomparable knight.
1622 (?a1513) W. Dunbar Poems (Reidpeth) (1998) I. 65 The Bruce that euir was bold in stor.
1857 F. Palgrave Hist. Normandy & Eng. II. 352 The Danes were very stiff in the stour.]
a. Conflict with death, death-struggle, esp. in hard stour, death-stour, bale-stour (see bale n.1 Compounds). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun] > death throes
throwingeOE
death throec1300
throec1300
stour1340
bale-stourc1400
gasping1440
agonya1500
(one's) last gasp1564
death flurry1831
the world > life > death > [noun] > conflict or struggle with
stour1340
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 1838 Þe payn of þe dede..Þat es þe hard stour at þe last ende, When þe saule sal fra þe body wende.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5812 I yhelde my saul in þis dede stour Til þe Loverd.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15647 Quen suete o blod vte of him brast, þat sua on erth fell. Quen he was risen vt o þis sture, til his felaus come he.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 5374 Þai prayed þe confessour To bring þat man oute of þat stour.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 5161 in Wks. (1931) I Deith..Quham wysedome may nocht contramand, Nor strenth that stoure may nocht ganestand!
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > contention or strife > [noun] > an act or instance of
flitec1000
strifea1225
wara1300
pulla1400
lakec1420
contenta1450
stour?c1450
contentiona1500
pingle1543
agony1555
feudc1565
combat1567
skirmish1576
grapple1604
counter-scuffle1628
scuffle1641
agon1649
tug1660
tug of war1677
risse1684
struggle1692
palaver1707
hash1789
warsle1792
scrabble1794
set-to1794
go1823
bucklea1849
wrestle1850
tussle1857
head-to-head1884
scrum1905
battleground1931
shoot-out1953
mud-wrestle1986
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 111 Whan þai þole mekill' in stoures, Tene and tray of tormentoures, To sere men þaire sufferynge Is ensample of gude lyuynge.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiv. 173 In strong stowre now ar we sted; What may we say?
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 47 Honorious of Rome the empioure, That tyme with seiknes staid wes in ane stour.
a1550 in R. Dyboski Songs, Carols & Other Misc. Poems (1908) 68 Styfly to stond in euery stowr Agaynst the fende & all his methe.
1585 C. Fetherston tr. J. Calvin Comm. Actes Apostles xiii. 8. 296 The same stoure haue we at this day with a number of brablers.
1686 J. Renwick Let. 18 Feb. in A. Shields Life J. Renwick (1724) 238 The Lord..hath helped you to stand with a poor despised Party in many Stours for his Interest.
1807–10 R. Tannahill Poems (1846) 48 Thus youth and vigour fends itsel'; While dowless eild, in poortith cauld Is lanely left to stand the stoure.
a. Used by Spenser and his imitators for: Time of turmoil and stress. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > time of
stoundOE
SeptuagesimaOE
winterc1425
plague time1549
plague year1549
stour1579
Winter of the Rals1846
locust years1948
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Jan. 51 And eke tenne thousand sithes I blesse the stoure [Glossed by E. K. a fitt], Wherein I sawe so fayre a sight, as shee.
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. May 156 When approchen the stormie stowres.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B4 Then gan she wail and weepe, to see that woeful stowre.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ii. sig. Cc7v I haue beene trained vp in warlike stowre.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. ix. sig. I5v But thus turmoild from one to other stowre, I wast my life. View more context for this quotation
1597 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. ii. iii. 35 So haue I seene in a tempestuous stowre, Some breer-bush shewing shelter from the showre.
1620 F. Quarles Feast for Wormes Med. ii. D 2 b God..shield all good men from such stormy stowre.
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. B5v And shall not He..rise, and in his wrathfull stour..quell the haughty enemie.
1742 W. Shenstone School-mistress xix All, all but He, the Author of it's Shame,..regret it's ruthful Stour.
1767 W. J. Mickle Concubine i. xxxi Now to the Goal they fly—in franticke Stowre.
1811 H. Macneill Bygane Times 49 When wives and dochters, without thrift..can mak nae shift To screen themsels frae tempest's stour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > [noun]
stowc888
stokea900
steadc1000
placec1250
fletc1275
roomc1330
spotc1400
where1443
quarter1448
plat1556
stour1583
situation1610
ubity1624
the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > chance or fortuitous event
adventure?c1225
hapc1275
chancea1300
fortunea1375
accidenta1398
casualtya1513
to-fall1562
withfall1562
casual1566
casuality1574
stour1583
upcasta1616
contingency1620
haphazard1651
contingence1660
unaccountable1789
happen-so1816
happenchance1847
happenstance1857
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Aaiij v When ye Græcians were in suspence, whether to march on to giue onset of battaile, at the same stoure, drad flakes of lightning fire were darted down from heauen.
1589 T. Lodge Scillaes Metamorphosis A 4 b Clore she gathered Amaranthus flower, And Nais Aiax blossom in that stowre.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. I4 He chose her chinne; and from that happie stowre He neuer stints in glorie to appeare.
1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late ii. sig. L The birds at euerie stowre To tempt the heauens with harmonie diuine.
1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine ii. v. 111 For Strumbo the cobler At this same stoure, at this very houre, Lies dead on the ground.
1600 T. Lodge in Englands Helicon sig. Eiv Oft from her lap at sundry stoures, He leapt, and gathered Sommer flowres.
4.
a. Tumult, uproar; commotion, fuss. Now Scottish and dialect. [Perhaps partly a variant of stir n.3; compare the γ forms of stir v.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > [noun]
winOE
torpelness?c1225
disturbance1297
workc1325
disturblingc1330
farec1330
frapec1330
disturbing1340
troublingc1340
blunderc1375
unresta1382
hurling1387
perturbationc1400
turbationc1400
rumblec1405
roara1413
rumourc1425
sturblance1435
troublec1435
stroublance1439
hurlc1440
hurly-burlyc1440
ruffling1440
stourc1440
rumblingc1450
sturbancec1450
unquietness?c1450
conturbationc1470
ruption1483
stir1487
wanrufe?a1505
rangat?a1513
business1514
turmoil1526
blommera1529
blunderinga1529
disturbation1529
bruyllie1535
garboil1543
bruslery1546
agitation1547
frayment1549
turmoiling1550
whirl1552
confusion1555
troublesomeness1561
rule1567
rummage1575
rabble1579
tumult1580
hurlement1585
rabblement1590
disturb1595
welter1596
coil1599
hurly1600
hurry1600
commotion1616
remotion1622
obturbation1623
stirrance1623
tumultuation1631
commoving1647
roiling1647
spudder1650
suffle1650
dissettlement1654
perturbancy1654
fermentationa1661
dissettledness1664
ferment1672
roil1690
hurry-scurry1753
vortex1761
rumpus1768
widdle1789
gilravagea1796
potheration1797
moil1824
festerment1833
burly1835
fidge1886
static1923
comess1944
frammis1946
bassa-bassa1956
c1440 Bone Flor. 1659 Sche glyste up wyth the hedeows store, A sorowfull wakenyng had sche thore.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Oiv/1 A Stoore, commotio, turbatio.
1724 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 116 I see he is to take Bishop Burnet in task;..and I am content I have so masterly a writer..some way to stand betwixt me and the stour, so to say.
c1730 A. Ramsay Masque 197 Minerva mim, for a' your mortal stoor, Ye shall with billy Bacchus fit the floor.
1833 G. N. Brown York Minster Screen 150 (E.D.S. No. 76) An t' bairns all roo'red to see their moother roore, Ah nivver i my life seed sike a stoore.
1879 T. Hardy Distracted Preacher in New Q. Mag. Apr. 365 O, there's such a stoor, Mrs. Newberry..! The King's excisemen can't get the carts ready nohow at all!
1915 J. Wilson Lowland Scotch Lower Strathearn 206 Sic a stoor uboot naything.
b. A storm; esp. a driving storm. Scottish and northern.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [noun] > stormy weather > a storm
stormc825
un-i-withereOE
tempestc1250
riggc1400
orage1477
buba1500
procellea1500
stour1827
rattler1835
1827 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxx, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 102 The other horse grows obstinate wi' the sharp stour in his face.
a1878 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage to Land of Burns & Poems (1892) 218 Then look, ere midnight's past For a stour frae the nor-wast.
1891 J. C. Atkinson Forty Years Moorland Parish 362 It would have been alike impossible to see or read [the burial service] in such a fierce, savage stour; and the sharp, hard sleet and roughened snow were driven against..my neck and face.
II. A cloud or layer of dust, and related uses.† 6. to stour: ? to the ground. Obsolete. rare.
5. † b. A cloud of spray. Scottish. Obsolete. rare.1823 J. Galt Ringan Gilhaize I. xv. 160 My grandfather being eager to throw stour in his eyes.1883 R. Cleland Inchbracken xviii. 136 Do you tak me for a fule, to think ye're to blaw the stour i' my e'en that gate?1787 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 214 This day the Kirk kicks up a stoure.1837 R. Nicoll Poems (1843) 179 Wha raised at Marston such a stour And made the tyrants fear folk?1896 ‘A. Lilburn’ Borderer xxii. 169 Tschuh, tschuh, tscha, oh confound you and yer brush together..! Kicking up such a stour.1897 W. Beatty Secretar xviii. 154 What gars ye mak sic a stour at sic a time?
a. Flying dust raised by the rapid movement of a person or things, or by the wind; hence a deposit of dust; also dust from material undergoing mechanical treatment. Scottish and northern.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > granular texture > [noun] > state of being powdery > dust
dustc825
mulla1393
stourc1470
stuff1481
mouldera1552
stive1793
c1470 Henry Wallace x. 29 The tothir ost mycht nocht no dedis se, For stour at rais.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 57 Sa began the grete bataill, sa vigorous, yat the stour strake jn the hevin of the crueltee of that mortall bataill.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 579 The strang stour rais as reik vpon thaim fast.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid vii. xi. 57 The dusty pouder vp dryvand wyth a stour.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. ii. 3 The Troianis..A dusty sop vprysand gan do se, Full thik of stour vp thringand in the ayr.
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 39 The battellis ioynit so cruellie that they might nocht be sene for the stour and reik of poullder.
1786 R. Burns Poems 170 For I maun crush amang the stoure Thy slender stem.
1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun (new ed.) ii. 32 Alang the roads it left out o'er ye Sic clouds o' stour, Ye cou'dna see yoor thoomb before ye.
1836 Carlyle in Academy Suppl. (1898) 17 Sept. 272/1 The huge smoke and stour of that tumultuous Manchester.
1894 S. R. Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet 46 Ye couldna see his legs or coat-tails for stour as he gaed roon'.
1905 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 120/2 She went down on her knees to blow aside a pile of white peat ‘stour’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of spraying > [noun] > spray
stour1513
sprew1633
spray1750
speer1825
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. vi. 130 The large fludis suppis thrise in ane swelth, And wther quhilis spowtis in the air agane, Drivand the stour to the sternis, as it war rane.
1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage to Land of Burns 179 The siller stour That bowses frae the linn.
c. Phrases. (Scottish) like stour: very swiftly or vigorously. to blow, cast, throw stour in one's eyes: figurative (cf. dust n.1 4). to kick up, make, raise a stour: to raise a dust; figurative, to make a disturbance or fuss.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > very swiftly
as swift (also quick, fleet) as thought?c1225
like lightning1567
(as) quick as lightning1580
like wildfire1699
like stour1787
(as) quick as a wink1825
like smoke1832
quick as a streak1839
like sixty1848
(as) quick as thought1871
at a great lick1898
like a bat out of hell1921
like the clappers1948
like a bomb1954
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > acting vigorously or energetically [phrase] > with great vigour or energy
with (also in) mood and maineOE
vigour13..
with or by (all one's) might and mainc1330
with (one's) forcec1380
like anything1665
hammer and tongs1708
like stour1787
(in) double tides1788
like blazes1818
like winking1827
with a will1827
like winky1830
like all possessed1833
in a big way1840
like (or worse than) sin1840
full swing1843
like a Trojan1846
like one o'clock1847
like sixty1848
like forty1852
like wildfire1857
like old boots1865
like blue murder1867
like steam1905
like stink1929
like one thing1938
like a demon1945
up a storm1953
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > be in commotion or disorder [verb (intransitive)] > cause commotion or disorder
to make work?1473
perturb1543
hurly-burly1598
to throw (also fling) the house out of (also at) the window (also windows)1602
tumultuate1611
to beat up the quarters of1670
hurricane1682
larum1729
to kick up, make, raise a stour1787
stour1811
to strike a bustle1823
to cut shindies1829
to kick up a shindy1829
hurricanize1833
rumpus1839
to raise (Old) Ned1840
to raise hell1845
fustle1891
to rock the boat1903
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > perplex, nonplus [phrase]
to bring (drive, or put) to one's wit's end1377
to cast (also throw) a mist before a person's eyes?a1475
to set (also run) on ground1600
to make butter and cheese of1642
to put to the gaze1646
philogrobolized in one's brains1653
to strike all of (on) a heap1711
to blow, cast, throw stour in one's eyes1823
knot1860
to give (one) furiously to think1910
1788 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum II. 204 Yestreen I met you on the moor, You spak na, but gaed by like stoure.
1870 J. K. Hunter Life Stud. Char. 135 Thoo sees I am preachin' awa' here like storr.
1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders xxxviii. 322 I saw our men..drive like stour across the yard and in at the open gate.
ΚΠ
?1567 M. Parker Whole Psalter lxxx. 233 Why hast thou beat: his closure downe..?..The tushy bore..doth route it vp to stoure.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
stouradj.n.2
/stʊə/, U.S. /stʊ(ə)r/ Obsolete exc. Scottish.† B. n.2
A. adj.† 1. † b. Of a fight, battle: Fiercely contested. Obsolete.† c. Of conditions: Causing great pain or hardship, hard, severe, grievous. Obsolete.† d. Of sound: Great in volume, loud. (Cf. A. 6b.)† 2. Great in number, numerous. Obsolete.† 3. Great in degree. Obsolete.† 4. † b. Of length: Great, immoderate, inordinate.
a. Of natural agencies: Violent, fierce. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > [adjective]
retheeOE
hotOE
strongOE
woodlyc1000
un-i-rideOE
stoura1122
brathc1175
unridec1175
unrudec1225
starklyc1275
toughc1275
wood1297
ragec1330
unrekena1350
biga1375
furialc1386
outrageousc1390
savagea1393
violenta1393
bremelya1400
snarta1400
wrothlya1400
fightingc1400
runishc1400
dour?a1425
derfc1440
churlousa1450
roida1450
fervent1465
churlish1477
orgulous1483
felona1500
brathfula1522
brathlya1525
fanatic1533
furious1535
boisterous1544
blusterous1548
ungentle1551
sore1563
full-mouthed1594
savage wild1595
Herculean1602
shrill1608
robustious1612
efferous1614
thundering1618
churly1620
ferocient1655
turbulent1656
efferate1684
knock-me-down1760
haggard-wild1786
ensanguined1806
rammish1807
fulminatory1820
riproarious1830
natural1832
survigrous1835
sabre-toothed1849
cataclysmal1861
thunderous1874
fierce1912
cataractal1926
a1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1085 Swa stor þunring & lægt wes swa þat hit acwealde manige men.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12846 Þer-uuen-on heo i-seȝen a fur þat wes muchel and swiðe stor.
14.. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 131/256 On a grene hill he sawe a tre, The Savoure of hit was stronge & store.
c1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 373 The store windes blew ful lowd.
1460 Lybeaus Disc. 1766 A fere stark and store Was lyght.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > [adjective] > carried on violently
stithc1000
strongOE
starkOE
storlicc1275
stourc1275
sharpc1381
stalwartc1420
sturdya1450
sorea1500
vehement1531
shrewd1576
perperacute1647
furied1878
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 856 Þær wes feiht swiðe strong on alche halue hit wes stor. þer wes..moni cniht feie.
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1725) 72 Þer þe bataile was stoure an abbay wild he haf wrouht.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > attended by or causing affliction
eileOE
soreOE
unselec1050
evilc1175
derfa1225
stourc1275
feeble1297
illa1325
fella1400
unhappya1400
unwealful1412
importunea1425
noisomea1450
shrewd1482
importunable?c1485
importunate1490
funestal1538
nippingc1550
troublesome1552
pinching1563
grievesome1568
afflicting1573
afflictive1576
pressing1591
lacerating1609
funest1636
funestous1641
gravaminous1659
unkind1682
plightful1721
damning1798
acanthocladous1858
damnatory1858
fraught1966
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3655 Þu [Cæsar] ært icumen of Rome þine word beoð swiðe store. Of ure londe þu axest ȝeld.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 24541 Sa war mi stundes store.
c1350 Med. MS. in Archaeologia 30 384 Ye playster..is good..To leyn on place yer styngyng is, It drawyth awey ye smert so stoure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adjective]
loud971
stithc1000
strongOE
greata1375
stiff1377
wrastc1400
boistousc1430
stourc1440
big1549
routing1567
thundering?1576
full-mouthed1594
thunderous1606
tonitruous1606
thundery1608
trump-like1609
full-mouth1624
voluminousa1635
rousing1640
altisonous1661
lusty1672
tonitrual1693
rending1719
trumpet-like1814
foudroyant1840
clarion1842
trumpeting1850
trumpet-toned1851
loudish1860
tonitruant1861
tonant1891
thunderful1898
high1923
wham-bam1960
c1440 York Myst. xxxi. 242 My lorde it astonys hym, youre steuen is so store.
1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) 162 As of the stour dynnyng and noyse that their horses made treddyng and wallopyng..vpon the grounde.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 173 Quhone the angell blawis his bugill sture.
e. quasi-adv. Violently, fiercely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > action of river > [adverb] > flowing swiftly or violently
stoura1300
turbulently1863
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [adverb] > violently
stoura1300
hardc1330
fiercea1400
strainably1511
a1300 Floriz & Bl. (Cambr.) 228 Fram flore in to flore Þe strimes vrneþ store.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 16 The wind blew out of the Eist stiflie and sture.
1885 J. Lumsden Rural Rhymes 91 Thou wearie, eastlin' blast Frae ‘Lumsden's Hole’ that stormest stoure!
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective]
hardOE
heavyc1000
highOE
highlyOE
stourc1275
largec1330
intensec1400
violent1430
profoundc1450
vehementc1485
intensive1526
advanceda1533
vengeable1532
Herculean1602
well-advanced1602
deep1605
dense1732
abysmal1817
intensitive1835
holy1837
high-level1860
major1942
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [adjective] > abundant, numerous
so manyc888
thickc893
muchc1225
rifec1275
stourc1275
unridec1300
copiousc1384
plentya1400
rivedc1400
numerable?a1425
numerous?a1475
many a several1543
rank1545
numberous1566
huge1570
multuous1586
multeous1589
numberful1594
numberable1596
numbery1606
numbersomea1617
multitudinousa1631
sand-like1630
voluminous1650
several1712
smart1750
powerful1800
multitudinarious1810
multitudinary1838
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1907 He gadere ferde þe wes feondliche stor.
a1300 Havelok 2383 Þer he yet on hunting for, With mikel genge, and swiþe stor.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 842 On-kumen was cadalamor, King of elam, wið ferding stor.
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1725) 313 Þe poyntes were so store.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 1534 Store starand stanes strekilland all ouire [the garment].
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 1741 Þou may reȝt lycken Þe store strenthe of oure stoure to sternes of þe heuen.
ΚΠ
c1250 Owl & Night. 1473 (MS. Cott.) Wundre me þungþ wel starc & stor Hu eni mon [etc.].
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4552 Muchele is & stor þe eiȝe.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 177 He was mete-custi þat is monscipe steor.
a. Of material things: Great in size, stout, massive, bulky; also rarely great in extent of surface. (In some of the quots. approximating to sense A. 7.) Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > of large volume or bulky > and solid
greateOE
stour?a1300
fata1325
mightyc1375
sternc1394
stiffc1400
massivec1425
mastiff1495
gross1516
massy1548
robustious1548
mountainousa1616
monumental1632
mountain1633
lusty1640
beamy1697
material1736
Himalayan1878
wodgy1907
monolith1922
?a1300 Shires England 28 in Old Eng. Misc. 146 Ac þis wes hwile þreo bisscop-riche, for-þi her to hereþ .viii store schire, and on half schire.
?13.. Adultery 158 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen 79 421 An huge tre, stark & stoure.
c1400 Sc. Trojan War (Horstm.) 198 Of Pallas a tempile full stoure.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 822 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 326 He..Awoydes þo borde in-to þo flore, Tase away þo trestis þat ben so store.
c1480 (a1400) St. Christopher 339 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 349 Quhen þat christofore þis prayere had mad,..his staf, þat was sture & stark, was cled with lewis, & with bark.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xi. l. 970 Thai..Brak byggyngs doun quhilk had bene stark and stur.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xi. xi. 45 For in his hand..had he A bustuus speir, percace, baith styth and stuir.
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 7th Serm. sig. Aavi A greater payne..then when the stower nayles were knocked and driuen throughe hys handes and fete.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 138 For body being a stour unweildsom thing,..it cannot stir without asking another bodies leave to crowd by.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [adjective] > of length: great or excessive
stourc1540
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 3042 Hir nose..Stondyng full streght & not of stor lenght.
5. in combination.a1400–50 Wars Alex. (Ashm.) 1702 Askis þam..Bathe of his statoure & his strenth if he ware store ben [Dublin MS. sture-baned].† b. of bearing, countenance, speech. Obsolete.† c. of a stroke, pace. Obsolete.
a. Of persons or animals: Strong, sturdy, stalwart.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > [adjective] > of health: good > resistant to disease, etc.
strongeOE
stalworthc1175
starka1250
stiff1297
stalworthyc1300
vigorousc1330
stoura1350
lustyc1374
marrowya1382
sturdyc1386
crank1398
robust1490
vigorious1502
stalwart1508
hardy1548
robustious1548
of force1577
rustical1583
marrowed1612
rustic1620
robustic1652
solid1741
refractory1843
salted1864
resistant1876
saulteda1879
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [adjective]
stalworthc1175
thicka1250
stubblea1300
quarryc1300
stalworthyc1300
stoura1350
sturdyc1386
buirdlya1400
squarec1430
couragec1440
craskc1440
substantialc1460
ample1485
stalwart1508
puddinga1540
full-bodied1588
robust1666
two-handed1687
swankinga1704
strapping1707
broad-set1708
thick-set1724
throddy?1748
thick-bodied1752
broad-built1771
junky1825
swankie1838
stodgy1854
wide-bodied1854
beefish1882
hunky1911
buff1982
buffed1986
the world > life > the body > bodily constitution > bodily strength > [adjective] > robust
strongeOE
hardOE
stalworthc1175
starka1250
stiff1297
steel to the (very) backa1300
stalworthyc1300
wightc1300
stable13..
valiant1303
stithc1325
toughc1330
wrast1338
stoura1350
sadc1384
wighty14..
derfc1440
substantialc1460
well-jointed1483
felon1487
robust1490
stalwart1508
stoutya1529
robustous?1531
rankc1540
hardy1548
robustious1548
stout1576
rustical1583
rustic1620
iron1638
robustic1652
swankinga1704
strapping1707
rugged1731
solid1741
vaudy1793
flaithulach1829
ironbark1833
swankie1838
tough as (old) boots or leather1843
skookum1847
hard (also tough, sharp) as nails1862
hard-assed1954
nails1974
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 60 Ne is no quene so stark ne stour..þat ded ne shal by glyde.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 3937 Þan floȝe þar..of þa foule Backes, Als store & als stalword as þire sedill dowis.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 16413 The quene..rydyng..Opon a stede strong & store.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) x. 158 He wes a stout carle and a sture.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. viii. 20 The tother of lymmis biggar and cors mair stur is.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 500 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 110 Was nane so sture in ye steid micht stand him a start.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 20 His buirlie bodie, that wes bayth strang and stuir.
1633 G. Herbert Church Porch in Temple xx Constancie knits the bones, and makes us stowre.
1814 W. Scott Waverley II. xix. 290 That grey auld stoor carle, the Baron o' Bradwardine. View more context for this quotation
1817 Carlop Green in R. Brown Comic Poems 116 Stiff, still, stuir, hard-grown Baillie Brock.
ΚΠ
c1386 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 1123 O stronge lady stoore, what dostow?
c1480 (a1400) St. Blaise 149 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 365 Þane sad hym blase [= Blasius] with stur chere: ‘certis, þu art a foule.’
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii* With stout contenance & sture he stude thame beforne.
a1510 G. Douglas King Hart ii. 395 Go to the King, with sture voce can he say, Speir gif ony office he hes for me.
a1529 J. Skelton Against Scottes (1843) 12 They are so stowre, So frantyke mad.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 326/1 Stowre of conversacyon, estourdy.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 3763 Achilles was..a stythe man in stoure, storest of wille.
1567 A. Golding in tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) Ep. Ded. sig. biij Such as were most wyld, stowre, feerce..and bent Ageinst good order, were by him perswaded too relent.
1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 68 He was sa stout and sture, of his lyfe tuke na cure.
ΚΠ
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 784 Quhen that he was with-out. Rycht fast he ȝeide, a stour pais and a stout.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1193 Bothe batels on bent brusshet togedur; With stithe strokes and store.
c1590 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 27 Thow happelie did find Thy fortoune now that from his stricking stuir [sc. the kicking of a horse] So hes eschewit saif vntuitchit suir.
6. in combination.1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 70 That dour stour-looking carle.
a. Of a person: Stiff, unbending, stubborn; stern, surly. Also of looks, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill-naturedness > [adjective]
stour1303
thwarta1325
elvishc1386
wrawc1386
wrawfulc1386
crabbeda1400
crousea1400
cursedc1400
doggeda1425
currishc1460
disagreeable1474
dour1488
thrawn1488
terne?1507
apirsmarta1522
crustyc1570
incommodious1570
bilious1571
mischievous-stomached1577
thrawn-faced1578
thrawn-mowit1578
wearisha1586
shrewish1596
rhubarbative1600
crabbish1606
ill-tempereda1616
cur-like1627
thrawn-faceda1628
terned1638
cross1639
splenial1641
frumpish1647
wry1649
bad-tempered1671
hot-tempered1673
sidy1673
ugly1687
ornery1692
cankerya1699
ramgunshoch1721
cantankerousc1736
frumpy1746
unhappy1756
grumpy1778
crabby1791
grumpish1797
thraw-gabbit18..
snarlish1813
cranky1821
stuntya1825
ill-natured1825
nattery1825
rantankerous1832
foul-tempered1835
cacochymical1836
as cross as two sticks1842
grumphy1846
knappy1855
carnaptious1858
cussed1858
three-cornered1863
snotty1870
sniffy1871
snorty1893
grouchy1895
scratchy1925
tight1950
stroppy1951
snitty1978
arsey1989
the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [adjective] > inflexible
ironOE
stour1303
strange1338
unmovablea1382
inflexible1398
stoutc1410
unpliablea1425
intreatable1509
stiff1526
stiff-necked1526
unpliant1547
stout-hearted1552
inexorable1553
obstinate1559
strait-laced1560
impersuasible1576
unflexiblea1586
hard-edged1589
adamantive1594
unyielding1594
adder-deaf1597
steeled1600
irrefragable1601
rigid1606
unpersuadable1607
imployable1613
unswayablea1616
uncompellable1623
inflexive?1624
over-rigid1632
unlimbera1639
seta1640
incomplying1640
uncomplying1643
stiff-girt1659
impersuadable1680
unbendinga1688
impracticable1713
unblendable1716
stiff-rumped1728
unconvinciblea1747
uncompounding1782
unplastic1787
unbending1796
adamant1816
uneasy1819
uncompromising1828
cast iron1829
hard-hitting1831
rigoristic1844
ramrod1850
pincé1858
anchylosed1860
unbendable1884
tape-bound1900
tape-tied1900
hard line1903
tough1905
absolutist1907
hard-arsed1942
go-for-broke1946
hardcore1951
hard-arse1966
hard-ass1967
hardball1974
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 11471 Ȝyf þou meke þe to þy prest, Þou mekes þe to Goddes brest; Ȝyf þou be to hym ful stour, Þou doust to God grete dysonour.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 3845 But non of hem thei ones gret, But sette hem doun with semblaunt store.
c1447 in J. Raine Inventories & Acct. Rolls Benedictine Houses Jarrow & Monk-Wearmouth (1854) 241 Will'm of Hilton..wt hy and stoor countenance entreed yr qweer..wt outyn ony.. reuerence..to ye blessid sacrament.
a1500 Ratis Raving iii. 367 Na falow the nocht with our gredy, Na with our still men, na our sture.
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. i. 110 The Occean, whiche where he cometh by Easte Asie, is called Eous,..and aftre the name of the stoure Scithiane, vpon the Northe Scythicus.
1642 J. Rous Diary (1856) 121 For that he shewed himselfe crosse and stower, he was committed to the Fleet.
1789 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 480 Says black Jöan frae Crychton-peel, A Carline stoor and grim.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 342 A muckle sture fearsome-looking wife.
1846 T. Chalmers Let. in W. Hanna Mem. T. Chalmers (1850) IV. xxiv. 456 There's some of your stour orthodox folk just over ready to stretch the Bible to square with their catechism.
b. Of a voice: Harsh, rough. (Cf. A. 1d.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > rough or harsh
stour1786
raspy1821
rasping1873
grainy1963
1786 R. Burns Poems 57 When wi' an eldritch, stoor quaick, quaick, Amang the springs, Away ye squatter'd like a drake .
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Stoar, stour, harsh, deep~toned.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) II. Dialogues 294 I tell's him i' a stoar voice, as lang as I'se maister o' this house [etc.].
1894 ‘H. Haliburton’ Furth in Field 9 The farmer..demanded in a stoor voice..‘whether’ [etc.].
1894 R. Reid Poems 46 Nae merle at e'enin' his melody starts..But a corbie's maybe, or some ither as stoor.
7. Coarse in texture, harsh, rough, stiff.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > [adjective] > rough
unsmeetheOE
sharpc893
rowOE
reofOE
roughOE
unplaina1393
harsha1400
scrofc1400
stourc1400
ruggyc1405
asperous1547
harshy1582
shagged1589
horrid1590
unsmooth1598
gross1606
asperate1623
brute1627
scabbed1630
sleazy1644
rasping1656
scaber1657
asper1681
shaggy1693
gruff1697
grating1766
hackly1794
ruvid1837
scrubby1856
unkind1866
raspy1882
ruckly1923
sandpapery1957
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxi. 140 In thase iles..er schepe als mykill as oxen, bot þe woll of þam es grete and sture.
c1440 Alphabet of Tales 184 And he sett befor þaim sture brede & salte.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 326/1 Stoure, rude as course clothe is, gros.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 630 This rubbynge of your gowne agaynst the wolle wyll make it sture to the syght: ce frotter de vostre robbe contre la layne larudyra quant a la veue.
1545 T. Raynald in tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde i. 2 The Skin.. in sume one person [is] moore stowre & styffe then in sume other agayne.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 16v A fenny goose, euen as her flesh is blacker, stoorer, vnholsomer, so is her fether for the same cause courser stoorer & rougher.
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) viii. f. 103 And eke the skin with bristles stur right griesly, he hir gaue.
1691 J. Ray S. & E. Country Words in Coll. Eng. Words (ed. 2) 116 Sturry, inflexible, sturdy, and stiffe. Stowre is used in the same sense, and spoken of Cloth, in opposition to limber.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Stour, stiff, stout... In our use, it seems rarely, if ever, applied to any thing but strong vegetable growth... In Suffolk..it is applied to land which works stiff.
[Compare A. 7.] A thick place (in cloth).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > defects or irregularities in
burlc1440
scawe1463
stour1472
brack1552
pirn1688
sheave1696
sprit1737
sprat1756
crow's foot1948
pill1954
soil1959
1472 in 5th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS: Pt. 1 (1876) App. 436 in Parl. Papers (C. 1432) XL. 1 [The cloth is to be clear of] rowe, stour, cokell, vagite, grete hole or any other defaute.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > [adjective] > carried on violently
stithc1000
strongOE
starkOE
storlicc1275
stourc1275
sharpc1381
stalwartc1420
sturdya1450
sorea1500
vehement1531
shrewd1576
perperacute1647
furied1878
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 5310 Þat feht wes swiðe storlic [c1300 Otho stor-lich].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
stourv.
/stʊə/, U.S. /stʊ(ə)r/, Scottish English /stur/ Scottish and northern.
1. intransitive. Of a substance: To rise up in a cloud of dust or powder; to fly. Of snow: To drive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > granular texture > become granular or form grains [verb (intransitive)] > of dust: to rise in cloud
stour1788
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > dry weather or climate > [verb (intransitive)] > rise up in a dust-cloud
stour1788
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > snow or fall (of snow) [verb (intransitive)] > drive or whirl
reek1828
stour1891
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 356 To Stoor; to rise up in clouds, as smoke, dust, fallen lime, &c.
1860 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. Sc. Life (1867) v. 87 In speaking of the dryness of the soil on a road in Lanarkshire, a farmer said, ‘It stoors in an oor’.
1891 J. C. Atkinson Forty Years Moorland Parish 360 It was a wild day indeed, the snow stouring in blinding clouds.
2. (See quot. 1811.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > be in commotion or disorder [verb (intransitive)] > cause commotion or disorder
to make work?1473
perturb1543
hurly-burly1598
to throw (also fling) the house out of (also at) the window (also windows)1602
tumultuate1611
to beat up the quarters of1670
hurricane1682
larum1729
to kick up, make, raise a stour1787
stour1811
to strike a bustle1823
to cut shindies1829
to kick up a shindy1829
hurricanize1833
rumpus1839
to raise (Old) Ned1840
to raise hell1845
fustle1891
to rock the boat1903
1811 R. Willan in Archaeologia 17 160 Stour, to raise dust, to make a bustle.
Derivatives
ˈstouring adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > [adjective] > driving or driven
drivingc1325
drivenc1330
driftya1732
stouring1891
1891 J. C. Atkinson Forty Years Moorland Parish (ed. 2) 361 The stouring snow which blew directly into one's face and eyes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1325adj.n.2a1122v.1788