stout

views updated May 21 2018

stout / stout/ • adj. 1. (of a person) somewhat fat or of heavy build: stout middle-aged men. ∎  (of an object) strong and thick: Billy had armed himself with a stout stick stout walking boots. 2. (of an act, quality, or person) brave and determined: he put up a stout defense in court.• n. a kind of strong, dark beer brewed with roasted malt or barley.DERIVATIVES: stout·ish adj. (in sense 1).stout·ly adv.stout·ness n. (in sense 1).

stout

views updated May 21 2018

stout collapse of stout party standard dénouement in Victorian humour; the phrase is supposed to come from Punch, as the characteristic finishing line of a joke, but no actual example has been traced, although the character Stout Party appeared in a cartoon of 1855.
put a stout heart to a stey brae Scottish proverbial saying, late 16th century; meaning that determination is needed to climb a steep (‘stey’) hillside.

stout

views updated May 14 2018

stout1 †proud, fierce, brave; strong in body or build XIV; corpulent XIX. — AN., OF. (N.E. dial.) stout, for estout :- WGmc. *stult- (MLG. stolt, MDu., Du. stout, (O)HG stolz proud), perh. rel. to *stelt- (see STILT).

stout

views updated May 14 2018

stout2 strong beer XVII. prob. ellipt. for s. ale or s. beer (STOUT1), the adj. being current XVII–XIX as applied to drink having a good body.

stout

views updated Jun 27 2018

stout See beer.