Meaning "strong in body, powerfully built" is attested from First attested inc. 1386, but has been to a large extent displaced by the euphemistic meaning "thick-bodied, fat and large," which is first recorded 1804. Original sense preserved in stout-hearted (1552).
The noun "strong, dark-brown beer" is first recorded 1677, from the adjective.
Yossarian walked out of the office and down the stairs into the dark, tomblike street, passing in the hall thestout woman with warts and two chins, who was already on her way back in.
Art thou but Captaine of a thouſand horſe, That by Characters grauen in thy browes, And by thy martiall face andſtout aſpect, Deſeru’ſt to haue the leading of an hoſte?
2020 September 5, David Hytner, “Raheem Sterling keeps his cool to see off Iceland amid blaze of late drama”, inThe Guardian[1]:
he had reason to be extremely grateful to Sterling, his Manchester City teammate, who won and converted the penalty that appeared to have broken Iceland’sstout resistance.
2023 June 28, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: Alton to Exeter”, inRAIL, number986, page58:
So, Andover featured in the Glorious Revolution, which involved the deposition of Catholic fraterniser James II and his replacement bystout Protestants William and Mary.
[…] Pipes, who acted as the enemy's forlorn hope, advanced to the gate with great intrepidity, and clapping his foot to the door, which was none of theſtouteſt, with the execution and diſpatch of a petard, ſplit it into a thouſand pieces.
Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of thestoutdams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins … .
Incidentally the survey pointed up the sad plight of the stylishstouts, today's “forgotten men.” The clothing situation is getting so critical for them that they may have to choose between eating and dressing.
“stout”, inKielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki:Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland),2004–, retrieved2023-07-03
