staunch means not permitting water or some other liquid to escape or penetrate; watertight. It carries an Arena rating of 1362, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, staunch ranks #2,308 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,317 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words, #3,383 of 14,340 for Most Vivid Words, #5,886 of 14,297 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
staunch is pronounced /stɔːn(t)ʃ/.
Why “staunch” is a great word
Firm and steadfast in principle, loyalty, or support; also, strong and watertight in construction. From Middle English staunch, staunche, from Anglo-Norman estaunche, Old French estanche ("firm, watertight"), from estanchier ("to stop the flow of a liquid, to make watertight"), possibly from Vulgar Latin *stagnicāre, from Latin stāgnum ("standing water, pond"), first recorded in English in the late 14th to early 15th century. Unlike steadfast, which suggests unwavering constancy but lacks the connotation of physical resilience, or loyal, which emphasizes faithful allegiance without implying active, robust defense, staunch is both moral and material. It is the oak door that swells against the flood, the hand pressed firmly over a wound, the friend who arrives in the storm with a body placed between you and the harm. There is something almost violent in its reliability—a quiet strength that refuses to yield to force, time, or doubt.
Etymology
From Middle English staunch, staunche (“(adjective) in good condition or repair; solidly made, firm; watertight; of a person or wound: not bleeding; certain; intact; (adverb) firmly, soundly”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman estaunche, Old French estanche (“firm; watertight”) (modern French étanche (“airtight; watertight”)), a variant of estanc (“a pond”), from estanchier (“to stop the flow of a liquid (blood, water, etc.); to make (something) watertight; to quench (thirst)”) (modern French étancher), possibly from one of the following:
* From Vulgar Latin *stagnicāre, from Latin stāgnum (“piece of standing water, pond; fen, swamp”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂g- (“to drip; to seep”).
* From Vulgar Latin *stānticāre, from *stānticus (“tired”), from Latin stāns, stāntis (“
adj
- Not permitting water or some other liquid to escape or penetrate; watertight.“Yet if I knevv, / VVhat Hoope ſhould hold vs ſtaunch from edge to edge / Ath'vvorld [of the world]: I vvould perſue it.”
- Not permitting water or some other liquid to escape or penetrate; watertight.; Impermeable to air or other gases; airtight.“[T]vvas very difficult to procure a Bladder ſmall and fine enough for that litle Cylinder; and that one, vvhich at length vve procured, vvould not continue ſtanch for many Tryals, but vvould after a vvhile part vvith a litle Air in the vvell exhauſted Receiver, vvhen tvvas clog'd vvith the utmoſt VVeight it could ſuſtain: but vvhilſt it continued ſtanch vve made one fair Tryal vvith it, […]”
- Strongly built; also, in good or strong condition.“Hovv goodly, and hovv to be vviſht vvere ſuch an obedient unanimity as this, vvhat a fine conformity vvould it ſtarch us all into? doubtles a ſtanch and ſolid peece of frame-vvork, as any January could freeze together.”
- Staying true to one's aims or principles; firm, resolute, unswerving.“Without our staunch front line the enemy would have split the regiment.”
- Dependable, loyal, reliable, trustworthy.“He’s been a staunch supporter of mine through every election.”
- Dependable, loyal, reliable, trustworthy.; Of a hunting dog: that can be depended on to pick up the scent of, or to mark, game.“[T]he horſemen & huntſmen ſhould blemiſh at ſuch places as they ſee the Hart enter into a thicket or couert to the end that if the hounds fall to change, they may return to thoſe blemiſhes, and put their hounds to the right ſlot and view, vntill they haue rowzed or found him againe with their bloudhound, or with ſome other ſtanch old hound of the kennell, in the which they may aſſie themſelues. Fo”
- Cautious, restrained.“It is good to be very ſtaunch and cautious of talking about other Men and their Concernments, in vvay of paſſing Characters on them, or deſcanting upon their Proceedings for vvant of other Diſcourse: This is the common refuge of Idleneſs, and the practice of fidling Goſſips, vvho becauſe they vvill do nothing themſelves, muſt be reflecting upon the doings of others; […]”
- Stubborn, intransigent.
noun
- That which stanches or checks a flow.
- That which stanches or checks a flow.; A plant or substance which stops the flow of blood; a styptic.
- An act of stanching or stopping.
- Synonym of afterdamp (“suffocating gases present in a coal mine after an explosion caused by firedamp”).
Words closest in meaning
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