entry
stolid
/ˈstɑːlɪd/Showing little emotion; dull, heavy, and impassive
From Indo-European source proposed by etymonline; precise reconstructed ancestry omitted from the parsed chain stel (To put).
from Latin stolidus "insensible, dull, slow, brutish, rude, stupid," properly "unmovable," related to stultus "foolish"...
+1 more sourcefrom French stolide (16c.)
+1 more sourcefrom French stolide (16c.)
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin stolidus "insensible, dull, slow, brutish, rude, stupid," properly "unmovable," related to stultus "foolish"...
+1 more sourcefrom French stolide (16c.)
+1 more sourcefrom French stolide (16c.)
+1 more sourcePicture a person who seems to have been built from paving stones: present, upright, and nearly impossible to rattle. Latin stolidus meant “dull” or “stupid,” but etymonline connects it with the idea of being unmovable—the mental stillness of someone who simply will not budge. French stolide carried the word into English, where stolid appears around 1600; it may even have been formed backward from stolidity, as though English speakers trimmed a suffix off the abstract noun. The same Latin neighborhood includes stultus, “foolish,” though the exact historical relationship is not perfectly secure. Today, a stolid witness gives nothing away—not a twitch, gasp, or raised eyebrow—like a statue sitting through a courtroom drama.
The Story
Picture a person who seems to have been built from paving stones: present, upright, and nearly impossible to rattle. Latin stolidus meant “dull” or “stupid,” but etymonline connects it with the idea of being unmovable—the mental stillness of someone who simply will not budge. French stolide carried the word into English, where stolid appears around 1600; it may even have been formed backward from stolidity, as though English speakers trimmed a suffix off the abstract noun. The same Latin neighborhood includes stultus, “foolish,” though the exact historical relationship is not perfectly secure. Today, a stolid witness gives nothing away—not a twitch, gasp, or raised eyebrow—like a statue sitting through a courtroom drama.
Modern Usage
Internet slang meaning cool, excellent, or solid
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry defining stolid as “cool, awesome, excellent, neat, or solid”
Kin & Kindred
From 'stel'·To put, stand, or arrange; associated with something fixed or unmoving
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary