From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Stout \Stout\ (stout), a. [Compar. {Stouter} (stout"[~e]r);
superl. {Stoutest}.] [D. stout bold (or OF. estout bold,
proud, of Teutonic origin); akin to AS. stolt, G. stolz, and
perh. to E. stilt.]
1. Strong; lusty; vigorous; robust; sinewy; muscular; hence,
firm; resolute; dauntless.
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With hearts stern and stout. --Chaucer.
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A stouter champion never handled sword. --Shak.
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He lost the character of a bold, stout, magnanimous
man. --Clarendon.
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The lords all stand
To clear their cause, most resolutely stout.
--Daniel.
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2. Proud; haughty; arrogant; hard. [Archaic]
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Your words have been stout against me. --Mal. iii.
13.
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Commonly . . . they that be rich are lofty and
stout. --Latimer.
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3. Firm; tough; materially strong; enduring; as, a stout
vessel, stick, string, or cloth.
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4. Large; bulky; corpulent.
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Syn: {Stout}, {Corpulent}, {Portly}.
Usage: Corpulent has reference simply to a superabundance or
excess of flesh. Portly implies a kind of stoutness or
corpulence which gives a dignified or imposing
appearance. Stout, in our early writers (as in the
English Bible), was used chiefly or wholly in the
sense of strong or bold; as, a stout champion; a stout
heart; a stout resistance, etc. At a later period it
was used for thickset or bulky, and more recently,
especially in England, the idea has been carried still
further, so that Taylor says in his Synonyms: "The
stout man has the proportions of an ox; he is
corpulent, fat, and fleshy in relation to his size."
In America, stout is still commonly used in the
original sense of strong as, a stout boy; a stout
pole.
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