Etymograph

English

robust

Robust comes from Latin rōbustus ‘hard, firm, solid, robust’, and goes back to rōbus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōbus1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōbustus1‘hard, firm, solid, robust’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1869robust1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English robust
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, Anthony Trollope: “She was stronger, larger, more robust physically than he…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōbusWiktionary, English robust
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōbustusWiktionary, English robust‘hard, firm, solid, robust’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1869robustWiktionary, English robust. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, Anthony Trollope: “She was stronger, larger, more robust physically than he…”

Today it means

adj Able to withstand adverse conditions.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “robust”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin rōbus / robust