Obs. exc. Sc. Forms: 1 stór, 3–5 stor, (3 Lay. steor), 3–5 store, 4–6 stoore, 5 storre; 3–6 stur, 4–6 sture, 5–9 stoor, 6 stur; 4–6, 9 stoure, 4–9 stour, 4, 6, 7 north. stowre, 6–7 stower; Sc. 6, 8 stuir. [Apparently two words have been confused: (1) Late OE. stór, a. ON. stór-r (Sw., Da. stor) great. Cf. OFris. stór great, OS. stôri (gl. inclitis); the root is prob. *stō- ablaut-var. of *sta- to STAND. (2) ME. stūr, cogn. w. MLG. stûr, MDu. stuur, stûre (med. Flem. stuur; Du. has the derivative stuursch) rough, wild, furious, harsh; it is uncertain whether the affinities are with STEER a. or with SRIR v.
Owing to the uncertainty of the phonetic import of some of the forms, the two words cannot be distinctly separated.]
A. adj.
† 1. of natural agencies: Violent, fierce. Obs.
a. 1122. O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.), an. 1085. Swa stor þunring & læʓt wes swa þat hit acwealde maniʓe men.
c. 1205. Lay., 25740. Þer uuen on heo iseȝen a fur þat wes muchel and swiðe stor.
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gaw., 373. The store windes blew ful lowd.
1460. Lybeaus Disc., 1766. A fere stark and store Was lyght.
14[?]. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903), 131/256. On a grene hili he sawe a tre, The Savoure of hit was stronge & store.
† b. Of a fight, battle: Fiercely contested. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 1709. Þar wes feiht swiðe strong on alche haue hit wes stor þer wes … moni cniht feie.
1338. R. Brunne, Chron. (1725), 72. Þer þe bataile was stoure an abbay wild he haf wrouht.
† c. Of conditions: Causing great pain or hardship, hard, severe, grievous. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 7333. Þu [Cæsar] ært icumen of Rome þine word beoð swiðe store of ure londe þu axest ȝeld.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 24541. Sa war mi stundes store.
c. 1350. Med. MS., in Archæologia, XXX. 384. Ye playster … is good … To leyn on place yer styngyng is, It drawyth awey ye smert so stoure.
† d. Of sound: Great in volume, loud. (Cf. 6 b.)
c. 1440. York Myst., xxxi. 242. My lorde it astonys hym, youre steuen is so store.
a. 1489. Caxton, Blanchardyn, 162. As of the stour dynnyng and noyse that their horses made treddyng and wallopyng … vpon the grounde.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, xxi. 63. Quhen the angell blawis his bugill sture.
e. quasi-adv. Violently, fiercely.
a. 1300. Floriz & Bl., 228 (Camb. MS.). Fram flore in to flore Þe strimes vrneþ store.
c. 1475. Rauf Coilȝear, 16. The wind blew out of the Eist stiflie and sture.
1885. ‘S. Mucklebackit’ (J. Lumsden), Rural Rhymes, 91. Thou wearie, eastlin’ blast Frae ‘Lumsden’s Hole’ that stormest stoure!
† 2. Great in number, numerous. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 3821. He gadere ferde þe wes feondliche stor.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 842. On-kumen was cadalamor, king of elam, wið ferding stor.
a. 1300. Havelok, 2383. Þer he yet on hunting for, With mikel genge, and swiþe stor.
1338. R. Brunne, Chron. (1725), 313. Þe poyntes were so store.
a. 1400–50. Wars Alex., 1534. Store starand stanes strekilland all ouire [the garment]. Ibid., 1741. Þou may reȝt lycken Þe store strenthe of oure stoure to sternes of þe heuen.
† 3. Great in degree. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 349. He was mete-custi þat is monscipe steor. Ibid., 9126. Muchele is & stor þe eiȝe.
c. 1250. Owl & Night., 1473 (MS. Cott.). Wundre me þungþ wel starc & stor Hu eni mon [etc.].
† 4. Of material things: Great in size, stout, massive, bulky; also rarely great in extent of surface. (In some of the quots. approximating to sense 8.) Obs.
a. 1300[?]. Shires England, 28, in O. E. Misc., 146. Ac þis wes hwile þreo bisscop-riche, for-þi her to hereþ .viii. store schire, and on half schire.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, xix. (Christopher), 339. Quhen þat christofore þis prayere had mad,… His staf, þat was sture & stark, was cled with lewis, & with bark.
13[?]. Adultery, 158, in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr., LXXIX. 421. An huge tre, stark & stoure.
c. 1400. Sc. Trojan War (Horstm.), 198. Of Pallas a tempile full stoure.
c. 1450. Bk. Curtasye, 822, in Babees Book (1868), 326. He … Awoydes þo borde in-to þo flore, Tase away þo trestis þat ben so store.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, X. 956. Thai … Brak byggyngs doun quhilk had bene stark and stur.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, XI. xi. 45. For in his hand … had he A bustuus speir, percace, baith styth and stuir.
1549. Latimer, 7th Serm. bef. Edw. VI., A a vj. It was … a greater payne … then when the stower nayles were knocked and driuen throughe hys handes and fete.
1674. N. Fairfax, Bulk & Selv., 138. For body being a stour unweildsom thing,… it cannot stir without asking another bodies leave to crowd by.
† b. Of length: Great, immoderate, inordinate.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 3042. Hir nose … Stondyng full streght & not of stor lenght.
5. Of persons or animals: Strong, sturdy, stalwart.
a. 1310. in Wright, Lyric P., xxx. 87. Ne is no quene so stark ne stour,… that ded ne shal by-glyde.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, X. 158. He wes a stout carle and a sture.
a. 1400–50. Wars Alex., 3937. Þan floȝe þar … of þa foule Backes, Als store & als stalword as þire sedill dowis.
c. 1400. Laud Troy Bk., 16413. The quene … rydyng … Opon a stede strong & store.
c. 1450. Holland, Howlat, 500. Was nane so stur in the steid micht stand him a start.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, V. viii. 20. The tother of lymmis biggar and cors mair stur is.
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot. (Rolls), I. 20. His buirlie bodie, that wes bayth strang and stuir.
1633. G. Herbert, Temple, Ch. Porch, xx. Constancie knits the bones, and makes us stowre.
1793. Carlop Green (1817), 116. Stiff, still, stuir, hard-grown Baillie Brock.
1814. Scott, Wav., xlii. That grey auld stoor carle, the Baron o’ Bradwardine.
Comb. a. 1400–50. Wars Alex., 1702 (Ashm. MS.). Askis þam … Bathe of his statoure & his strenth if he ware store ben [Dublin MS. sture-baned].
† b. of bearing, countenance, speech. Obs.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, xx. (Blase), 149. Þane sad hym blase [= Blasius] with stur chere: certis, þu art a foule.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Merch. T., 1123. O stronge lady stoore, what dostow?
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 3763. Achilles was … a stythe man in stoure, storest of wille.
c. 1470. Golagros & Gaw., 87. With stout contenance and sture he stude thame beforne.
a. 1510. Douglas, K. Hart, II. 395. Go to the King, with sture voce can he say, Speir gif ony office he hes for me.
a. 1529. Skelton, Agst. Scottes, 12. They are so stowre, So frantyke mad.
1530. Palsgr., 326/1. Stowre of conversacyon, estourdy.
1560. Rolland, Seven Sages, 68. He was sa stout and sture, Of his lyfe tuk na cure.
1567. Golding, Oxid’s Met., Epist. 11. Such as were most wyld, stowre, feerce … and bent Ageinst good order, were by him perswaded to relent.
† c. of a stroke, pace. Obs.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 1193. Bothe batels on bent brusshet togedur; With stithe strokes and store.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, IV. 780. Quhen that he was with out, Rycht fast he ȝeide, a stour pais and a stout.
c. 1590. J. Stewart, Poems (S.T.S.), II. 27/452. 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. Of a person: Stiff, unbending, stubborn; stern, surly. Also of looks, etc.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 11471. Ȝyf þou meke þe to þy prest, Þou mekes þe to Goddes brest; Ȝyt þou be to hym ful stour, Þou doust to God grete dysonour.
c. 1400. Laud Troy Bk., 3845. But non of hem thei ones gret, But sette hem doun with semblaunt store.
c. 1447. in Invent. Jarrow & Wearmouth (Surtees), 241. Will’m of Hilton … wt hy and stoor countenance entreed yr qweer … wt outyn ony … reuerence … to ye blessid sacrament.
a. 1500. Ratis Raving, II. 367. Na falow the nocht with our gredy, Na with our still men, na our sture.
1555. W. Watreman, Fardle 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 (Camden), 121. For that he shewed himselfe crosse and stower, he was committed to the Fleet.
1789–90. Burns, Five Carlins, xvii. Says Black Joan frae Crichton Peel, A carline stoor and grim.
1815. Scott, Guy M., xxxix. A muckle sture fearsome-looking wife.
1846. Chalmers, in Hanna, Mem. (1852), IV. xxiv. 456. There’s some of your stour orthodox folk just over ready to stretch the Bible to square with their catechism.
Comb. 1816. Scott, Old Mort., iv. That dour stour-looking carle.
b. Of a voice: Harsh, rough. (Cf. 1 d.)
1785. Burns, Addr. to Deil, viii. When wi’ an eldritch, stoor quaick, quaick, Amang the springs, Away ye squatter’d like a drake.
1828. Carr, Craven Gloss., Stoar, stour, harsh, deep-toned. Ibid., II. 294. I tell’s him i’ a stoar voice, as lang as I’se maister o’ this house [etc.].
1894. ‘H. Haliburton’ (J. L. Robertson), 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.
c. 1400. Maundev. (Roxb.), xxxi. 140. In thase iles … er schepe als mykill as oxen, bot þe woll of þam es grete and sture.
c. 1440. Alphabet of Tales, 184. And he sett befor þaim sture brede & salte.
1530. Palsgr., 326/1. Stoure, rude as course clothe is, gros. Ibid., 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. Raynalde, Byrth Mankynde, I. 2. The Skin … in sume one person [is] moore stowre & styffe then in sume other agayne.
1545. Ascham, Toxoph., II. (Arb.), 131. A fenny goose, euen as her flesh is blacker, stoorer, vnholsomer, so is her fether for the same cause courser stoorer and rougher.
1567. Golding, Ovid’s Met., VIII. (1593), 195. And eke the skin with bristles stur right griesly he hir gaue.
1691. Ray, S. & E. Country Words, Sturry, inflexible, sturdy, and stiffe. Stowre is used in the same sense, and spoken of cloth, in opposition to limber.
a. 1825. Forby, Voc. E. Anglia, 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.
Hence † Storlic a., strong, fierce.
c. 1205. Lay., 10647. Þat feht wes swiðe storlic [c. 1275 storlich].
† B. sb.2 [Cf. A. 8.] A thick place (in cloth).
1472. 5th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm., 436/2. [The cloth is to be clear of] rowe, stour, cokell, vagite, grete hole or any other defaute.
