▪ I. stour, n.1
(stur)
Forms: 3–4 stur(e, 4–9 stoure, stowre, 5 store, (6 stourre), 5–8 stowr, 6–9 stower, 8–9 stoor, 4– stour.
[a. AF. estur, OF. estour (N.E. dial. stour), estor, estorn = Pr. estorn-s, It. stormo tumult, conflict, a. Teut. *sturmo-z storm n. The etymological identity of senses 4 and 5 with the other senses is doubtful.]
I. 1. An armed combat or conflict; esp. a contest in battle; a fight. Obs. exc. arch.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7466 A man o þair gains an of vr, If vrs mai him win in stur [other texts stoure, stour(e)s]. Ibid. 7752–3 Gain saul þai gaf batail strang... In hard strur [read stur] þai samen mett. Ful snaip it was þair stur and snell. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 23 Bot werdes haht and hey tures Getes thir cite men fra stures. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 730 Lordynges..þat fledde fro þe grete stour. c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 380 She that helmed was in starke stoures [Ellesm. shoures] And wan by force townes stronge and toures. c 1400 Destr. Troy Prol. 28 Now of Troy forto selle..Of the stoure & þe stryffe when it distroyet was. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. civ. (1869) 113, I am ladi and..constablesse of alle stoures in cheuachyes, ther as baners ben desplayed. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 42 Moche grete and merueyllouse was the stoure, and the bataill soo fyers. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxvi. 26 The quhilk, with mony bludy woundis, in stour, Victoriusly discomfeit the dragoun. 1592 W. Wyrley Armorie, Ld. Chandos i, Prooued knights In martial feats and battelous stoure. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xvi. 69 Those braue spirits in all those balefull stowres, That with Duke Robert went against the Pagan powers. 1667 J. M'Kenzie in Highland Papers (S.H.S. 1916) II. 22 Both parties met w{supt} a terrible stour fighting handsomlie on both sides. 1803 W. S. Rose Amadis 96 Man to man, and horse to horse oppos'd, the stower began. 1808 Scott Marm. iv. xxxii, When joins yon host in deadly stowre. 1816 ― Old Mort. xxxvii, ‘Then ye saw a bonny stour,’ said Cuddie, ‘that sall serve me for fighting a' the days o' my life’. 1846 C. G. Prowett Prometheus Bound 21 Whose pointed lances on their foes Bear down the battle's stour. 1904 J. Parkinson Lays of Love & War 81 War unto him is his birthright, The stour of the battle his breath. |
† b. Phrases. stiff, stith, strong in stour; also rarely good, fast, bold in stour. Obs.
| a 1300, ? a 1366 [see stiff a. 13]. a 1300–1400 [see stith a. 6]. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 6 A stiffe knyght in stoure. Ibid. 213 Edward & Edmunde, knyght gode in stoure. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. lv. 37 Þer nis non so strong in stour,..From þat day forþ,..Of his strengþe he leost a quantite. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 1655 Welcom, sir knyght, That fast art in stoure. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xxv. 131 He is..of so mekill myght, And styf in euery stoure. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxvii. 33 The Bruce, that euir was bold in sto[u]r. 1508 Ibid. vii. 9 Welcum in stour most strong, incomparable knight. [1857 Sir F. Palgrave Norm. & Eng. II. 352 The Danes were very stiff in the stour.] |
† 2. fig. a. Conflict with death, death-struggle, esp. in hard stour, death-stour, bale-stour (see bale n.1 8). Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 15647 Quen suete o blod vt of him brast, þat sua on erth fell. Quen he was risen vt o þis sture til his felaus come he. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1838 Þe payn of þe dede..Þat es þe hard stour at þe last ende, When þe saule sal fra þe body wende. Ibid. 5812, I yhelde my saul in þis dede stour Til þe Loverd. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5374 Þai prayed þe confessour To bring þat man oute of þat stour. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 5161 Deith..Quham wysedome may nocht contramand, Nor strenth that stoure may nocht ganestand! |
† b. A conflict waged with immaterial weapons; a struggle with pain or adversity. Obs.
| c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 111 Whan þai þole mekill' in stoures, Tene and tray of tormentoures, To sere men þaire sufferynge Is ensample of gude lyuynge. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xiv. 497 In strong stowre now ar we sted; what may we say? 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 47 Honorious of Rome the empioure, That tyme with seiknes staid wes in ane stour. a 1536 Songs, Carols etc. (E.E.T.S.) 68 Styfly to stond in euery stowr Agaynst the fende & all his methe. 1585 C. Fetherstone tr. Calvin on Acts xiii. 8. 296 The same stoure haue we at this day with a number of brablers. 1686 J. Renwick Let. 18 Feb. in Life Biog. Presbyt. (1827) II. 276 The Lord..hath helped you to stand with a poor despised Party in many Stours for his Interest. 1807–10 Tannahill Poems (1846) 48 Thus youth and vigour fends itsel'; While dowless eild, in poortith cauld Is lanely left to stand the stoure. |
† 3. Used by Spenser and his imitators for: Time of turmoil and stress. Obs.
| 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Jan. 51 And eke tenne thousand sithes I blesse the stoure [Glossed by E. K. a fitt], Wherein I sawe so fayre a sight, as shee. Ibid. May 156 When approchen the stormie stowres. 1590 ― F.Q. i. ii. 7 Then gan she waile and weepe, to see that woefull stowre. Ibid. iii. ii. 6, I haue beene trained vp in warlike stowre. Ibid. iv. ix. 39 But thus turmoild from one to other stowre, I wast my life. 1597 Bp. Hall Sat. ii. iii. 35 So haue I seene in a tempestuous stowre, Some breer-bush shewing shelter from the showre. 1620 Quarles Feast for Worms Med. ii. D 2 b, God..shield all good men from such stormy stowre. 1642 H. More Song of Soul i. i. 53 Wks. (Grosart) 18/53 And shall not he..rise, and in his wrathfull stour..quell the haughty enemy. 1742 Shenstone Schoolmistr. xix, All, all but He, the Author of it's Shame,..regret it's ruthful Stour. 1767 Mickle Concub. i. xxxi, Now to the Goal they fly—in franticke Stowre. 1811 H. Macneill Bygane Times 49 When wives and dochters, without thrift..can mak nae shift To screen themsels frae tempest's stour. |
† b. Used by Greene, Lodge, and others, probably by misapprehension of Spenser, for: Occasion, place. Obs.
| 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus A a iij b, When y⊇ Græcians were in suspence, whether to march on to giue onset of battaile, at the same stoure, drad flakes of lightning fire were darted down from heauen. 1589 Lodge Scillaes Metam. A 4 b, Clore she gathered Amaranthus flower, And Nais Aiax blossom in that stowre. 1589 Greene Menaphon, Melicertus Ecl. 39 He chose her chinne; and from that happie stowre He neuer stints in glorie to appeare. 1590 ― Never too Late, Palmer's Verses 41 The birds at euerie stowre Do tempt the heauens with harmonie diuine. 1595 Locrine ii. v. 111 For Strumbo the cobler At this same stoure, at this very houre, Lies dead on the ground. 1600 Lodge in England's Helicon E 1 b, Oft from her lap at sundry stoures, He leapt, and gathered Sommer flowres. |
4. Tumult, uproar; commotion, fuss. Now Sc. and dial.
[Perhaps partly a variant of stir n.3; cf. the γ forms of stir v.]
| c 1440 Bone Flor. 1659 Sche glyste up wyth the hedeows store, A sorowfull wakenyng had sche thore. 1570 Levins Manip. 175/9 A stoore, commotio, turbatio. 1724 Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 116, I see he is to take Bishop Burnet in task;..and I am content I have so masterly a writer..some way to stand betwixt me and the stour, so to say. c 1730 Ramsay Masque 197 Minerva mim, for a' your mortal stoor, Ye shall with billy Bacchus fit the floor. 1833 G. N. Brown York Minster Screen 150 (E.D.S. No. 76) An t' bairns all roo'red to see their moother roore, Ah nivver i my life seed sike a stoore. 1879 Hardy Wessex Tales (1889) 262 Oh, there's such a stoor, Mrs. Newberry..! The king's excise⁓men can't get the carts ready nohow at all! 1915 Sir J. Wilson Lowland Scotch in Lower Strathearn 206 Sic a stoor uboot naything. |
b. A storm; esp. a driving storm. Sc. and north.
| 1827 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. I. 278 The other horse grows obstinate wi' the sharp stour in his face. a 1878 H. Ainslie Pilgr. Land Burns etc. (1892) 218 Then look, ere midnight's past For a stour frae the nor-wast. 1891 Atkinson Moorland Parish 362 It would have been alike impossible to see or read [the burial service] in such a fierce, savage stour; and the sharp, hard sleet and roughened snow were driven against..my neck and face. |
II. 5. Flying dust raised by the rapid movement of a person or things, or by the wind; hence a deposit of dust; also dust from material undergoing mechanical treatment. Sc. and north.
| 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 61 Sa began the grete bataill sa vigorous, that the stour strake in the hevin of the crueltee of that mortall bataill. c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 579 The strang stour rais, as reik, vpon thaim fast. Ibid. x. 29 The tothir ost mycht nocht no dedis se, For stour at rais. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. xi. 57 The dusty pouder vp dryvand wyth a stour. Ibid. ix. ii. 3 The Troianis..A dusty sop vprysand gan do se, Full thik of stour vp thringand in the ayr. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 39 The battellis ioynit so cruellie that they might nocht be sene for the stour and reik of poullder. 1786 Burns To Mountain Daisy i, For I maun crush amang the stoure Thy slender stem. 1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun ii. 121 Alang the roads it left out-ower ye Sic clouds o' stour, Ye coudna see yer thumb before ye. 1836 Carlyle in Academy Suppl. 17 Sept. (1898) 272/1 The huge smoke and stour of that tumultuous Manchester. 1894 Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet 46 Ye couldna see his legs or coat-tails for stour as he gaed roon’. 1905 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 120/2 She went down on her knees to blow aside a pile of white peat ‘stour’. |
† b. A cloud of spray. Sc. Obs. rare.
| 1513 Douglas æneis iii. vi. 130 The large fludis suppis thrise in ane swelth, And wther quhilis spowtis in the air agane, Drivand the stour to the sternis, as it war rane. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgr. Land of Burns 179 The siller stour That bowses frae the linn. |
c. Phrases. (Sc.) like stour: very swiftly or vigorously. to blow, cast, throw stour in one's eyes: fig. (cf. dust n.1 4). to kick up, make, raise a stour: to raise a dust; fig., to make a disturbance or fuss.
| a 1788 Burns ‘O Tibbie, I hae seen the day’ ii, Yestreen I met ye on the moor, Ye spak na, but gaed by like stoure. 1870 J. K. Hunter Life Studies Char. 135 Thoo sees I am preachin' awa' here like storr. 1894 Crockett Raiders (ed. 3) 322, I saw our men..drive like stour across the yard and in at the open gate. |
| 1823 Galt R. Gilhaize xv, My grandfather being eager to throw stour in his eyes. 1883 R. Cleland Inchbracken xviii. 136 Do you tak me for a fule, to think ye're to blaw the stour i' my e'en that gate? |
| 1786 Burns Ordination iii, This day the Kirk kicks up a stoure. 1837 R. Nicoll Poems (1843) 179 Wha raised at Marston such a stour And made the tyrants fear folk? 1896 A. Lilburn Borderer xxii. 169 Tschuh, tschuh, tscha, oh confound you and yer brush together..! Kicking up such a stour. 1897 W. Beatty Secretar xviii. 154 What gars ye mak sic a stour at sic a time? |
† 6. to stour: ? to the ground. Obs.—1.
| c 1557 Abp. Parker Ps. lxxx. 13 Why hast thou beat his closure downe..?..The tushy bore..doth route it vp to stoure. |
▪ II. stour, stoor, a. and n.2 Obs. exc. Sc.
(stur)
Forms: 1 stór, 3–5 stor, (3 Lay. steor), 3–5 store, 4–6 stoore, 5 storre; 3–6 stur, 4–6 sture, 5–9 stoor, 6 stur; 4–6, 9 stoure, 4–9 stour, 4, 6, 7 north. stowre, 6–7 stower; Sc. 6, 8 stuir.
[Apparently two words have been confused: (1) Late OE. stór, a. ON. stór-r (Sw., Da. stor) great. Cf. OFris. stór great, OS. stôri (gl. inclitus); the root is prob. *stō- ablaut-var. of *sta- to stand. (2) ME. stūr, cogn. w. MLG. stûr, MDu. stuur, stûre (med. Flem. stuur; Du. has the derivative stuursch) rough, wild, furious, harsh; it is uncertain whether the affinities are with steer a. or with stir v.
Owing to the uncertainty of the phonetic import of some of the forms, the two words cannot be distinctly separated.]
A. adj.
† 1. Of natural agencies: Violent, fierce. Obs.
| a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1085, Swa stor þunring & læᵹt wes swa þat hit acwealde maniᵹe men. c 1205 Lay. 25740 Þer uuen on heo iseȝen a fur þat wes muchel and swiðe stor. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 373 The store windes blew ful lowd. 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 1766 A fere stark and store Was lyght. 14.. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 131/256 On a grene hill he sawe a tre, The Savoure of hit was stronge & store. |
† b. Of a fight, battle: Fiercely contested. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 1709 Þær wes feiht swiðe strong on alche haue hit wes stor þer wes..moni cniht feie. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 72 Þer þe bataile was stoure an abbay wild he haf wrouht. |
† c. Of conditions: Causing great pain or hardship, hard, severe, grievous. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 7333 Þu [Cæsar] ært icumen of Rome þine word beoð swiðe store of ure londe þu axest ȝeld. a 1300 Cursor M. 24541 Sa war mi stundes store. c 1350 Med. MS. in Archæologia XXX. 384 Y⊇ playster..is good..To leyn on place yer styngyng is, It drawyth awey y⊇ smert so stoure. |
† d. Of sound: Great in volume, loud. (Cf. 6 b.)
| c 1440 York Myst. xxxi. 242 My lorde it astonys hym, youre steuen is so store. a 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn 162 As of the stour dynnyng and noyse that their horses made treddyng and wallopyng..vpon the grounde. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxi. 63 Quhen the angell blawis his bugill sture. |
e. quasi-adv. Violently, fiercely.
| a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 228 (Camb. MS.) Fram flore in to flore Þe strimes vrneþ store. c 1470 Rauf Coilȝear 16 The wind blew out of the Eist stiflie and sture. 1885 ‘S. Mucklebackit’ (J. Lumsden) Rural Rhymes 91 Thou wearie, eastlin' blast Frae ‘Lumsden's Hole’ that stormest stoure! |
† 2. Great in number, numerous. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 3821 He gadere ferde þe wes feondliche stor. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 842 On-kumen was cadalamor, king of elam, wið ferding stor. a 1300 Havelok 2383 Þer he yet on hunting for, With mikel genge, and swiþe stor. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 313 Þe poyntes were so store. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1534 Store starand stanes strekilland all ouire [the garment]. Ibid. 1741 Þou may reȝt lycken Þe store strenthe of oure stoure to sternes of þe heuen. |
† 3. Great in degree. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 349 He was mete-custi þat is monscipe steor. Ibid. 9126 Muchele is & stor þe eiȝe. c 1250 Owl & Night. 1473 (MS. Cott.) Wundre me þungþ wel starc & stor Hu eni mon [etc.]. |
† 4. Of material things: Great in size, stout, massive, bulky; also rarely great in extent of surface. (In some of the quots. approximating to sense 7.) Obs.
| ? a 1300 Shires England 28 in O.E. Misc. 146 Ac þis wes hwile þreo bisscop-riche, for-þi her to hereþ .viii store schire, and on half schire. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xix. (Christopher) 339 Quhen þat christofore þis prayere had mad,..His staf, þat was sture & stark, was cled with lewis, & with bark. ? 13.. Adultery 158 in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LXXIX. 421 An huge tre, stark & stoure. c 1400 Sc. Trojan War (Horstm.) 198 Of Pallas a tempile full stoure. c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 822 in Babees Book (1868) 326 He..Awoydes þo borde in-to þo flore, Tase away þo trestis þat ben so store. c 1470 Henry Wallace x. 956 Thai..Brak byggyngs doun quhilk had bene stark and stur. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. xi. 45 For in his hand..had he A bustuus speir, percace, baith styth and stuir. 1549 Latimer 7th Serm. bef. Edw. VI. A a vj, It was..a greater payne..then when the stower nayles were knocked and driuen throughe hys handes and fete. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 138 For body being a stour unweildsom thing,..it cannot stir without asking another bodies leave to crowd by. |
† b. Of length: Great, immoderate, inordinate.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 3042 Hir nose..Stondyng full streght & not of stor lenght. |
5. Of persons or animals: Strong, sturdy, stalwart.
| a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xxx. 87 Ne is no quene so stark ne stour,..that ded ne shal by-glyde. 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 158 He wes a stout carle and a sture. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 3937 Þan floȝe þar..of þa foule Backes, Als store & als stalword as þire sedill dowis. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 16413 The quene..rydyng..Opon a stede strong & store. c 1450 Holland Howlat 500 Was nane so stur in the steid micht stand him a start. 1513 Douglas æneis v. viii. 20 The tother of lymmis biggar and cors mair stur is. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) I. 20 His buirlie bodie, that wes bayth strang and stuir. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Ch. Porch xx, Constancie knits the bones, and makes us stowre. 1793 Carlop Green (1817) 116 Stiff, still, stuir, hard-grown Baillie Brock. 1814 Scott Wav. xlii, That grey auld stoor carle, the Baron o' Bradwardine. |
| Comb. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1702 (Ashm. MS.), Askis þam..Bathe of his statoure & his strenth if he ware store ben [Dublin MS. sture-baned]. |
† b. of bearing, countenance, speech. Obs.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xx. (Blase) 149 Þane sad hym blase [= Blasius] with stur chere: certis, þu art a foule. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 1123 O stronge lady stoore, what dostow? c 1400 Destr. Troy 3763 Achilles was..a stythe man in stoure, storest of wille. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 87 With stout contenance and sture he stude thame beforne. a 1510 Douglas K. Hart ii. 395 Go to the King, with sture voce can he say, Speir gif ony office he hes for me. a 1529 Skelton Agst. Scottes 12 They are so stowre, So frantyke mad. 1530 Palsgr. 326/1 Stowre of conversacyon, estourdy. 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 68 He was sa stout and sture, Of his lyfe tuk na cure. 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. Epist. 11 Such as were most wyld, stowre, feerce..and bent Ageinst good order, were by him perswaded to relent. |
† c. of a stroke, pace. Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1193 Bothe batels on bent brusshet togedur; With stithe strokes and store. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 780 Quhen that he was with out, Rycht fast he ȝeide, a stour pais and a stout. c 1590 J. Stewart Poems (S.T.S.) II. 27/452 Thow happelie did find Thy fortoune now that from his stricking stuir [sc. the kicking of a horse] So hes eschewit saif vntuitchit suir. |
6. Of a person: Stiff, unbending, stubborn; stern, surly. Also of looks, etc.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 11471 Ȝyf þou meke þe to þy prest, Þou mekes þe to Goddes brest; Ȝyf þou be to hym ful stour, Þou doust to God grete dysonour. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 3845 But non of hem thei ones gret, But sette hem doun with semblaunt store. c 1447 in Invent. Jarrow & Wearmouth (Surtees) 241 Will'm of Hilton..w{supt} hy and stoor countenance entreed y{supr} qweer..w{supt} outyn ony.. reuerence..to y⊇ blessid sacrament. a 1500 Ratis Raving iii. 367 Na falow the nocht with our gredy, Na with our still men, na our sture. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. i. 110 The Occean, whiche where he cometh by Easte Asie, is called Eous,..and aftre the name of the stoure Scithiane, vpon the Northe Scythicus. 1642 J. Rous Diary (Camden) 121 For that he shewed himselfe crosse and stower, he was committed to the Fleet. 1789–90 Burns Five Carlins xvii, Says Black Joan frae Crichton Peel, A carline stoor and grim. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxxix, A muckle sture fearsome⁓looking wife. 1846 Chalmers in Hanna Mem. (1852) IV. xxiv. 456 There's some of your stour orthodox folk just over ready to stretch the Bible to square with their catechism. |
| Comb. 1816 Scott Old Mort. iv, That dour stour-looking carle. |
b. Of a voice: Harsh, rough. (Cf. 1 d.)
| 1785 Burns Addr. to Deil viii, When wi' an eldritch, stoor quaick, quaick, Amang the springs, Away ye squatter'd like a drake. 1828 Carr Craven Gloss., Stoar, stour, harsh, deep⁓toned. Ibid. II. 294, I tell's him i' a stoar voice, as lang as I'se maister o' this house [etc.]. 1894 ‘H. Haliburton’ (J. L. Robertson) Furth in Field 9 The farmer..demanded in a stoor voice..‘whether’ [etc.]. 1894 R. Reid Poems 46 Nae merle at e'enin' his melody starts..But a corbie's maybe, or some ither as stoor. |
7. Coarse in texture, harsh, rough, stiff.
| c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxi. 140 In thase iles..er schepe als mykill as oxen, bot þe woll of þam es grete and sture. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 184 And he sett befor þaim sture brede & salte. 1530 Palsgr. 326/1 Stoure, rude as course clothe is, gros. Ibid. 630 This rubbynge of your gowne agaynst the wolle wyll make it sture to the syght: ce frotter de vostre robbe contre la layne larudyra quant a la veue. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde i. 2 The Skin.. in sume one person [is] moore stowre & styffe then in sume other agayne. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 131 A fenny goose, euen as her flesh is blacker, stoorer, vnholsomer, so is her fether for the sa ne cause courser stoorer and rougher. 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. viii. (1593) 195 And eke the skin with bristles stur right griesly he hir gaue. 1691 Ray S. & E. Country Words, Sturry, inflexible, sturdy, and stiffe. Stowre is used in the same sense, and spoken of cloth, in opposition to limber. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Stour, stiff, stout... In our use, it seems rarely, if ever, applied to any thing but strong vegetable growth... In Suffolk..it is applied to land which works stiff. |
† B. n.2 [Cf. A. 7.] A thick place (in cloth).
| 1472 5th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 436/2 [The cloth is to be clear of] rowe, stour, cokell, vagite, grete hole or any other defaute. |
Hence † ˈstorlic a., strong, fierce.
| c 1205 Lay. 10647 Þat feht wes swiðe storlic [c 1275 storlich]. |
▪ III. stour, v. Sc. and north.
(stur)
Also stoor.
[f. stour n.1 II.]
1. intr. Of a substance: To rise up in a cloud of dust or powder; to fly. Of snow: To drive.
| 1788 W. H. Marshall Yorksh. II. 356 To Stoor; to rise up in clouds, as smoke, dust, fallen lime, &c. 1860 Ramsay Remin. v. (1867) 87 In speaking of the dryness of the soil on a road in Lanarkshire, a farmer said, ‘It stoors in an oor’. 1891 Atkinson Moorland Parish 360 It was a wild day indeed, the snow stouring in blinding clouds. |
2. (See quot.)
| 1811 Willan in Archæologia XVII. 160 Stour, to raise dust, to make a bustle. |
Hence ˈstouring ppl. a.
| 1891 Atkinson Moorland Par. (ed. 2) 361 The stouring snow which blew directly into one's face and eyes. |
▪ IV. stour
obs. form of store; var. stower n.1