■ adjective ( sturdier , sturdiest ) strongly and solidly built or made.
↘confident and determined: a ~ independence.
■ noun vertigo in sheep caused by a tapeworm larva encysted in the brain.
Derivatives
sturdied adjective
sturdily adverb
sturdiness noun
Word History
In medieval times ~ meant 'reckless, violent' and 'intractable, obstinate'. The word is a shortening of Old French esturdi 'stunned, dazed', and is thought to be based on Latin turdus 'a thrush': thrushes were formerly associated with drunkenness, possibly because of eating wine grapes. Interestingly, there is an old French phrase soûl comme une grive , which means 'drunk as a thrush'.