stalwart

Meanings

Adjective

• Firmly or solidly built.
• Courageous.
• Determined; staunch.

Noun

• One who has a strong build.
• One who firmly supports a cause.
• One who is dependable.

Origin

• Borrowed from Scots stalwart under the influence of Walter Scott, displacing earlier stalworth, wherewith it forms a doublet. From Middle English stal-worth, from Old English stǣlwierþe, probably from staþol (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-) or stǣl + -wierþe (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert-).