stoor

English

Pronunciation

• (US) X-SAMPA: /"stur/,X-SAMPA: /"stor/

Etymology 1

From Middle English stoor, stour (“large, powerful”), from Old English stōr (“large, great, strong, violent”), from Proto-Germanic *stōraz, *stōrijaz (“great, big, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *stār-, *stōr- (“big, thick, old”). Akin to Scots stour (“tall, large, great, stout”), Eastern Frisian stor (“great, many”), Low German stur (“large”), Danish and Swedish stor (“large, great”), Icelandic stór (“large, tall”), Polish stary (“old, ancient”). Compare also steer.

Alternative forms

• stoore, stoure, stowre, stuir, stur, sture, sturry

Adjective

stoor (comparative stoorer or more stoor, superlative stoorest or most stoor)

1. (Now chiefly dialectal) Great; large; strong; mighty.

   O stronge lady stoor, what doest thou? — Chaucer.

2. (Now chiefly dialectal) Stiff; hard; harsh.
3. (Now chiefly dialectal) (of persons) Austere; harsh; severe; violent; turbulent.
4. (Now chiefly dialectal) (of the voice) Harsh; deep-toned.

Derived terms

• stoorness

Etymology 2

From Middle English storen, *sturien, from Old English *storian, variant of styrian (“to stir, move”), from Proto-Germanic *sturōnan (“to turn, disturb”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)twer-, *(s)tur- (“to rotate, twirl, swirl, move”). Cognate with Dutch storen (“to disturb”), Middle Low German stören (“to stir”), German stören (“to disturb”), German dialectal sturen (“to poke, root”). Non-Germanic cognate include Albanian shtir (“to ford, wade across”). See stir.

Alternative forms

• stour

Verb

stoor (third-person singular simple present stoors, present participle stooring, simple past and past participle stoored)

1. (intransitive, UK dialectal) To move; stir.
2. (intransitive, UK dialectal) To move actively; keep stirring.
3. (intransitive, UK dialectal) To rise up in clouds, as smoke, dust, etc.
4. (transitive, UK dialectal) To stir up, as liquor.
5. (transitive, UK dialectal) To pour; pour leisurely out of any vessel held high.
6. (transitive, UK dialectal) To sprinkle.

Noun

stoor (plural stoors)

1. (UK dialectal) Stir; bustle; agitation; contention.
2. (UK dialectal) Dust in motion, hence also dust at rest.
3. (UK dialectal) A gush of water.
4. (UK dialectal) Spray.
5. (UK dialectal) A sufficient quanitiy of yeast for brewing.

Derived terms

• stoorey
• stoory

Anagrams

• roost, roots, torso

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Dutch

Verb

stoor

1. first-person singular present indicative of storen
2. imperative of storen

Anagrams

• soort

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Middle English

Adjective

stoor

1. Alternative spelling of stour (large)