Link Centre Dictionary

sturdy

UK/ˈstɜːdi/ US/ˈstɜrdi/ uncommon obsolete

adjective

1.

having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships

  • “hardy explorers of northern Canada”
  • “proud of her tall stalwart son”
  • “stout seamen”
  • “sturdy young athletes”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

substantially made or constructed

  • “sturdy steel shelves”
  • “sturdy canvas”
  • “a tough all-weather fabric”
  • “some plastics are as tough as metal”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English sturdy, stourdy, stordy (“bold, valiant, strong, stern, fierce, rebellious”) (perhaps influenced by Middle English sture, stoure, stor (“strong, robust, harsh, stern, violent, fierce, sturdy”); see English stour), from Old French estourdi (“dazed”), form of estourdir, originally “to daze, to make tipsy (almost drunk)” (Modern French étourdir (“to daze, to make tipsy”)), from Vulgar Latin *exturdire. Latin etymology is unclear - presumably it is ex- + turdus (“thrush (bird)”), but how this should mean “daze” is unclear. A speculative theory is that thrushes eat leftover winery grapes and thus became drunk, but this meets with objections. Disease in cows and sheep is by extension of sense of “daze”, while sense of “strongly built” is of late 14th century, and relationship to earlier sense is less clear, perhaps from sense of a firm strike (causing a daze) or a strong, violent person.

Phrases

  • get sturdy
  • sturdy beggar

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.