stalwart

stalwart
\ \ [14] The ancestor of stalwart was Old English stǣlwierthe. The second half of this compound adjective denoted ‘worth, worthy’, but the precise significance of the first element is not clear. It represents Old English stǣlplace’, perhaps used here in the metaphorical sense ‘stead’, so that etymologically the word would mean ‘able to stand someone in good stead’. But stǣl itself may have been a contraction of statholfoundation’, so the underlying meaning of the compound could be ‘foundation-worthy’, hence ‘firmly fixed’ (an adjective statholfæst existed in Old English, meaning ‘firm, stable’). South of the border it became stalworth, which had virtually died out by the end of the 17th century.
\ \ But the Scottish variant stalwart, first recorded in the late 14th century, survived, and was brought into the general language by Sir Walter Scott.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Stalwart — Stal wart (st[o^]l w[ e]rt or st[add]l ; 277), Stalworth Stal worth ( w[ e]rth), a. [OE. stalworth, AS. st[ae]lwyr[eth] serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • stalwart — [stôl′wərt] adj. [ME stalworthe < OE stælwyrthe, short for statholwyrthe, firm < stathol, foundation (see STADDLE) + wyrthe, worth: hence, lit., having a firm foundation] 1. strong and well built; sturdy; robust 2. brave; valiant 3.… …   English World dictionary

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  • stalwart — [[t]stɔ͟ːlwə(r)t[/t]] stalwarts 1) N COUNT: usu with supp A stalwart is a loyal worker or supporter of an organization, especially a political party. His free trade policies aroused suspicion among Tory stalwarts... Moving to Germany, he became a …   English dictionary

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