sturdy1
[stur-dee]
- strongly built; stalwart; robust: sturdy young athletes.
- strong, as in substance, construction, or texture: sturdy walls.
- firm; courageous; indomitable: the sturdy defenders of the Alamo.
- of strong or hardy growth, as a plant.
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Origin of sturdy1
1250–1300; Middle English stourdi < Old French estourdi dazed, stunned, violent, reckless (past participle of estourdir < ?)
Synonyms
Antonyms
1. weak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
bulkyhulkingstrappingruggedstiffpowerfulmuscularheartystoutrobuststrongathleticdeterminedfirmflourishinghardyheftyhuskylustyresolutesturdy1
- healthy, strong, and vigorous
- strongly built; stalwart
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Word Origin
C13 (in the sense: rash, harsh): from Old French estordi dazed, from estordir to stun, perhaps ultimately related to Latin turdus a thrush (taken as representing drunkenness)
sturdy2
Word Origin
C17: from sturdy 1 (in the obsolete sense: giddy)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for sturdier
sturdy
adj.
c.1300, "hard to manage, reckless, violent," from Old French estourdi "violent," originally "dazed," past participle of estourdir "to daze," from Vulgar Latin *exturdire, which is presumed to be from Latin intensive prefix ex + turdus "thrush." Perhaps the notion is of thrushes eating leftover grapes at wineries and acting drunk (Italian tordo "thrush" also means "simpleton," and French has the expression soûl comme une grive "drunk as a thrush"). OED, however, regards all this as "open to grave objection." Sense of "solidly built, strong and hardy" first recorded late 14c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper