robust English · revision 15155

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1549|origins=la rōbur}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /rəʊˈbʌst/, US /roʊˈbʌst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|robuste]] or directly [[la|rōbustus|t=strong and hardy, originally oaken]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|rōbur|t=oak, hard timber, strength]], earlier [[m|la|rōbus]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) probably named for the reddish heartwood of the oak and related to [[m|la|ruber|t=red]] (see [[red]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*reudh-|t=red, ruddy]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of persons, strong and hardy in body: 1549 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1540s in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster gives the 15th century.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Robust also meant coarse, rough or rude from about 1560, a sense now rare.^(OED 1989) It was used of the body and health from 1625, of tasks needing strength from 1683, of plants from 1756, figuratively from 1788, and of the mind or voice from 1852.^(OED 1989) Robustious, an elaborated form of the 1540s, was common in the 17th century, as in Hamlet, with a stronger sense of rough or violent; it fell out of use by the mid-18th century and was revived by 19th-century antiquarian writers.^(Etymonline) The same Latin word is in [[corroborate]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1549 – strong and hardy.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1560 – coarse, rough.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1683 – requiring strength.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1756 – of plants.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1788 – figurative.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Strong and healthy; [[vigorous]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Sturdily built.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Needing or suited to physical strength: ''a robust sport''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Rough or [[boisterous]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of wine, having a rich, full-bodied flavour.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of thought or argument, straightforward and full of common sense.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[robustly]]

+ * [[robustness]]

+ * [[robustious]]

+ * [[unrobust]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[corroborate]]

+ * [[corroboration]]

+ * [[roborant]]

+ * [[robusta]]

+ * [[red]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}