sturdy.
Of firm build; stiff; stout; strong.
Meaning & usage
Of firm build; stiff; stout; strong.
a sturdy oak tree
Solid in structure or person.
It was a sturdy building, able to withstand strong winds and cold weather.
The dog was sturdy and could work all day without getting tired.
Foolishly obstinate or resolute; stubborn.
Resolute, in a good sense; or firm, unyielding quality.
a man of sturdy piety or patriotism
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sturdy, stourdy, stordy (“bold, valiant, strong, stern, fierce, rebellious”) (perhaps influenced by Middle English sture, stoure, stor (“strong, robust, harsh, stern, violent, fierce, sturdy”); see English stour), from Old French estourdi (“dazed”), form of estourdir, originally “to daze, to make tipsy (almost drunk)” (Modern French étourdir (“to daze, to make tipsy”)), from Vulgar Latin *exturdire. Latin etymology is unclear – presumably it is ex- + turdus (“thrush (bird)”), but how this should mean “daze” is unclear. A speculative theory is that thrushes eat leftover winery grapes and thus became drunk, but this meets with objections. Disease in cows and sheep is by extension of sense of “daze”, while sense of “strongly built” is of late 14th century, and relationship to earlier sense is less clear, perhaps from sense of a firm strike (causing a daze) or a strong, violent person.
A disease caused by a coenurus infestation in the brain of an animal, especially a sheep or canid; coenurosis.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sturdy, stourdy, stordy (“bold, valiant, strong, stern, fierce, rebellious”) (perhaps influenced by Middle English sture, stoure, stor (“strong, robust, harsh, stern, violent, fierce, sturdy”); see English stour), from Old French estourdi (“dazed”), form of estourdir, originally “to daze, to make tipsy (almost drunk)” (Modern French étourdir (“to daze, to make tipsy”)), from Vulgar Latin *exturdire. Latin etymology is unclear – presumably it is ex- + turdus (“thrush (bird)”), but how this should mean “daze” is unclear. A speculative theory is that thrushes eat leftover winery grapes and thus became drunk, but this meets with objections. Disease in cows and sheep is by extension of sense of “daze”, while sense of “strongly built” is of late 14th century, and relationship to earlier sense is less clear, perhaps from sense of a firm strike (causing a daze) or a strong, violent person.
Try it on your idea.
sturdy has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.