stour adjective & adverb. [stʊǝ] obsolete exc. Scot. Also sture.
[Late Old English stōr from Old Norse stórr (Swedish, Danish stor) big, great, prob. ult. from base also of STAND verb; perh. also partly rel. to Middle Low German stūr, Middle Dutch stuur, stūre rough, wild, furious: cf. STEER adjective.]
A. adjective.
1. a. Of a natural agency: violent, fierce. LOE-LME.
b. (Of a fight) fiercely contested; (of conditions) causing great pain or hardship, severe. Only in ME.
c. Of a sound: great in volume, loud. LME-E16.

2. a. Great in number, numerous. Only in ME.
b. Of an object: great in size, mass, or bulk. ME-L17.

3. Of a person or animal: strong, sturdy, stalwart. ME.
b. Of bearing, behaviour, speech, etc.: valiant; resolute; reckless. LME-M16.

4. Of a person, looks, etc.: stiff, unbending; stern, surly. ME.

5. Coarse in texture, rough; stiff. LME.
b. spec. Of a voice: harsh. L18.
b. adverb. Esp. of wind blowing: violently, fiercely. ME.

■ stourly adverb (a) rare greatly; (b) Scot. fiercely; stoutly, vigorously: ME.

■ stourness noun (obsolete exc. Scot.) LME.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲

stour noun. [stʊǝ] Also (dial.) stoor, stowre. ME.
[Anglo-Norman estur, Old French esto(u)r = Italian stormo, from Germanic base also of STORM noun; in branch II perh. a different word.]
I.
1. An armed combat, a fight; (a) conflict, (a) struggle. obsolete exc. arch. & Scot. ME.

2. Tumult, uproar; commotion. Now Scot. & dial. LME.
b. A storm; esp. a driving storm. Scot. & north. E19.

3. A time of turmoil, stress, or adversity. LME-E19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲

stour(2)
II.

4. Flying dust raised by rapid movement, the wind, etc; a deposit of dust; deposited dust. Chiefly Scot. & north. LME.

5. A cloud of spray. Scot. rare. E16-E19.
Phrases: like stour Scot. very swiftly or vigorously. kick up a stour Scot. make a fuss.

■ stoury adjective (Scot.) dusty, full of flying dust L18.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲