stout

1250–1300; Middle English (adj.) < Old French estout bold, proud < Germanic; compare Middle Dutch stout bold, Middle Low German stolt, Middle High German stolz proud

Stout, fat, plump imply corpulence of body. Stout describes a heavily built but usually strong and healthy body: a handsome stout lady. Fat, an informal word with unpleasant connotations, suggests an unbecoming fleshy stoutness; it may, however, apply also to a hearty fun-loving type of stout person: a fat old man; fat and jolly. Plump connotes a pleasing roundness and is often used as a complimentary or euphemistic equivalent for stout, fleshy, etc.: a pleasingly plump figure attractively dressed.