stalwart

English

WOTD – 7 June 2018

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots stalwart under the influence of Walter Scott, displacing earlier stalworth, wherewith it forms a doublet. From Middle English stal-worth (“physically strong, hardy, robust; brave, courageous”), from Old English stǣlwierþe (“able to stand in good stead, serviceable”), probably from staþol (“establishment; foundation”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”)) or stǣl (“place; condition, stead”) + -wierþe (“able to, capable of”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to rotate, turn”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstɔːl.wət/, /ˈstɒl-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈstɔl.wɚt/, /ˈstɑl-/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: stal‧wart

Adjective

stalwart (comparative more stalwart, superlative most stalwart)

1. Firmly or solidly built.
   • 1709, [Henry the Minstrel], “How Wallace Came into Scotland Again at the Battel of Elchok-Park”, in The Life and Acts of the Most Famous and Valiant Champion, Sir William Wallace, Knight of Ellerslie; Maintainer of the Liberty of Scotland. With a Preface Containing a Short Sum of the History of that Time, Edinburgh: Printed by the heirs and successors of Andrew Anderson, printer to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, →OCLC, book XII, page 304:

     This true Man ſoon aſſembled him beforn: / Three Sons he had that ſtalwart were and bold, / And twenty Men of Kin in his Houſhold.

   • 1849, George Frederick Ruxton, chapter III, in Life in the Far West (Plains and Rockies; 175), Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 71:

     [A] stalwart leather-clad "boy," just returned from trapping on the waters of Grand River, on the western side the mountains, who interlards his mountain jargon with Spanish words picked up in Taos and California.

   • 1870–1871 (date written), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter LVII, in Roughing It, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company [et al.], published 1872, →OCLC, page 415:

     For, observe, it was an assemblage of two hundred thousand young men—not simpering, dainty, kid-gloved weaklings, but stalwart, muscular, dauntless young braves, brimful of push and energy, and royally endowed with every attribute that goes to make up a peerless and magnificent manhood—the very pick and choice of the world's glorious ones.

   • 1912 August, Willa Sibert Cather, “The Bohemian Girl”, in McClure’s Magazine, volume XXXIX, number 4, [New York, N.Y.]: McClure Publications, →OCLC, chapter I, page 422:

     The driver was a stalwart woman who sat at ease in the front seat and drove her car bare-headed. She left a cloud of dust and a trail of gasoline behind her.

   • 2002 November 10, Aaron Ehasz, “Crimes of the Hot”, in Futurama, season 5, episode 1, spoken by Morbo, via Fox Broadcasting Company:

     Direct your attention now to the African turtles seen here migrating … Morbo wishes these stalwart nomads peace.

2. Courageous.
   • 1832 October, “Art[icle] II.— History of the Italian Language and Dialects. Saggi di Prose e Poesie de’ più celebri Scrittori d’ogni Secolo. VI. vol. 8vo. (Selected by L. Nardini and S. Buonaiuti.) In Londra. 1798.”, in The North American Review, volume XXXV, number LXXVII, Boston, Mass.: Gray and Bowen, […], →OCLC, pages 301–302:

     Many other learned men of the age followed him [Romolo Amaseo] to the field, and contended with much zeal for the cause of the Latin; some even went so far as to wish the Italian completely banished entirely from the world. But stalwart champions were not wanting on the other side; and, to be brief, the impulse of public opinion soon swept away all opposition, and the popular cause was triumphant.

   • 1842, E[dward] Howard, chapter XXXI, in Sir Henry Morgan, the Buccaneer, Paris: Baudry's European Library, […] and Stassin and Xavier, […], →OCLC, page 241:

     Now Tomlins always acted as Morgan's major domo in tent or quarters, and was also a stalwart hand either against ox, sheep, or enemy.

3. Determined; staunch.

Synonyms

• (firmly or solidly built): firm, resilient, robust, stout, strong; see also Thesaurus:strapping
• (courageous): bold, brave, courageous, daring, valiant; see also Thesaurus:brave
• (determined): see also Thesaurus:obstinate

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “firmly or solidly built”): feeble, flimsy, soft, weak; see also Thesaurus:weak
• (antonym(s) of “bold”): cowardly, gutless (informal), spineless; see also Thesaurus:cowardly

Derived terms

• stalwartly
• stalwartness

Translations

firmly or solidly built

• Bulgarian: як (bg) m (jak)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 魁梧 (zh) (kuíwú)

• Czech: statný (cs)
• Danish: robust (da), håndfast, stovt
• Dutch: robuust (nl), stevig (nl)
• Finnish: tukeva (fi), roteva (fi)
• French: robuste (fr)
• Galician: robusto (gl) m
• German: kräftig (de), robust (de), handfest (de), unerschütterlich (de)
• Greek: εύρωστος (el) (évrostos)
• Italian: robusto (it)
• Korean: 건장한 (geonjanghan), 튼튼한 (teunteunhan), 강건한 (ganggeonhan)
• Portuguese: robusto (pt) m
• Russian: кре́пкий (ru) (krépkij)
• Scottish Gaelic: làidir, treun
• Spanish: robusto (es)
• Swedish: kraftig (sv)
• Turkish: güçlü (tr), sağlam (tr)

courageous

• Bulgarian: смел (bg) (smel), решителен (bg) (rešitelen)
• Danish: tapper
• Dutch: moedig (nl), vastberaden (nl)
• Finnish: urhea (fi)
• French: courageux (fr), vaillant (fr)
• German: tapfer (de), unentwegt (de), tüchtig (de), unerschütterlich (de), standhaft (de)
• Irish: calma
• Italian: convinto (it), fedele (it), fedelissimo
• Russian: отва́жный (ru) (otvážnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: làidir, treun
• Spanish: corajudo (es), valiente (es)
• Swedish: tapper (sv)
• Turkish: cezur, gözüpek (tr), yürekli (tr)

Noun

stalwart (plural stalwarts)

1. One who has a strong build.
2. One who firmly supports a cause.
   • 1920?, [Lala] Lajpat Rai, “A Fight for Crumbs”, in The Call to Young India, Madras, Tamil Nadu, India: S. Ganesan & Co., →OCLC, pages 68–69:

     Too much authority, blind authority, mere authority, whether that of the Prince or the priest, of the Raja or the Nabob, of the oligarch or the official, of the wealty and the prosperous is the bane of Indian life, yet these stalwarts of reform always take shelter behind big names.

   • 1954 August 17, Thomas Leonard Hayman, “Financial Statement”, in New Zealand Parliamentary Debates: Fifth Session, Thirtieth Parliament: House of Representatives, volume 304 (Comprising the Period from 6 August to 1 October 1954), Wellington, N.Z.: By authority; R. E. Owen, government printer, published 1955, →OCLC, page 1200:

     But I am sure there must be a great many Socialists who would fairly turn in their graves if they knew how their successors in the Labour Party were "ratting" on the policy laid down by the old stalwarts.

3. One who is dependable.
   • 2017 October 14, Paul Doyle, “Mauricio Pellegrino yet to find attacking solution for stuttering Southampton: Nothing so far this season suggests the Argentinian will be more successful than Claude Puel in finding the answer to the club’s continuing lack of firepower”, in The Guardian‎^[1], London, archived from the original on 10 November 2017:

     Other erstwhile stalwarts are also wavering. Southampton had two of the best full-backs in the league last season but Ryan Bertrand has been below par this season and Cédric Soares made an uncharacteristic lapse that led to Stoke's winning goal in Southampton's last outing.

   • 2021 December 2, Margaret Fuhrer, “Mothers of Reinvention: The Lab Pivots as Studios Close”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     In August, the Los Angeles-area stalwart the Lab also closed its dance space, a 12,000-square-foot location in West Covina.

Translations

one who has a strong build

• Dutch: robuuste (nl), stevige (nl)
• Finnish: jässikkä (fi)
• Galician: robusto (gl) m
• Spanish: robusto (es)

one who firmly supports a cause

• Czech: oddaný stoupenec
• Dutch: onverzettelijke (nl), standvastige (nl)
• Finnish: uskollinen (fi), kannattaja (fi), änkyrä (fi)
• French: pilier (fr)
• German: Standhafter m, unerschütterlicher Anhänger m
• Greek: υποστηρικτής (el) (ypostiriktís), θιασώτης (el) (thiasótis)
• Italian: sostenitore fedele, sostenitore convinto
• Maori: pou whakarae
• Swedish: förkämpe (sv) c

one who is dependable

• Dutch: trouwe aanhanger
• Finnish: luottomies (fi), luottohenkilö, tukijalka (fi)
• Maori: pou whakarae, pou, tangata aukaha, tumu, pouwhakarae

Further reading

• stalwart (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Scots

Alternative forms

• staluart, stalward, stalwarde, stalwairt, stallwart, stalouart, stalliard, stalawrt, stalowart, stallowart, stalluart

Etymology

From Middle English stalwarde, stelewurthe, from Old English stǣlwierþe (“serviceable, able to stand in good stead”). Akin to English stalworth.

Adjective

stalwart (comparative mair stalwart, superlative maist stalwart)

1. physically strong, powerful, stour; exhibiting great stamina
2. valiant, brave; resolute, stout

Descendants

• → English: stalwart