stout

Meanings

Adjective

• Large; bulky.
• Bold, strong-minded.
• Proud; haughty.
• Firm; resolute; dauntless.
• Materially strong, enduring.
• Obstinate.

Noun

• A dark and strong malt brew made with toasted grain.
• An obese person.
• A large clothing size.
• Gnat.
• Gadfly.

Origin

• From Middle English stoute, from Old French estout (Modern French dialectal stout), from earlier Old French estolt, from Frankish *stolt, *stult, from Proto-Germanic *stultaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stel-.
• Cognate with Dutch stout ("stout, bold, naughty"), Low German stolt ("stately, proud"), German stolz ("proud, haughty, arrogant, stately"), Old Norse stoltr ("proud") (Danish stolt ("proud"), Icelandic stoltur ("proud")).
• Meaning "strong in body, powerfully built" is attested from c.1386, but has been to a large extent displaced by the euphemistic meaning "thick-bodied, fat and large," which is first recorded 1804. Original sense preserved in stout-hearted (1552).
• The noun "strong, dark-brown beer" is first recorded 1677, from the adjective.
• From Middle English stout, from Old English stūt.