Etymologically
Log in

dur

Etymology and origin of the French word dur

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion de Clermont
Inherited from
Latin durus
Ultimate origin
Latin (dūrus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin durus
French dur

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Europe): /dyʁ/[1]
  • IPA (Canada): /d͡zʏʁ/[1]

Forms

dur (feminine dure, masculine plural durs, feminine plural dures)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dūrus (“hard to the touch; harsh; painful; unfeeling”), with the same range of senses.[2][3][4][5] The origin of the Latin word is not established: a dissimilation of an older “*druros” has been proposed, which would connect it with Sanskrit दारुण (dāruṇá, “rough, strong”), Lithuanian drūtas (“strong”) and Ancient Greek δρῦς (drûs, “tree”), but Rey calls this weak for lack of parallel examples.[3]

Cognate with Italian duro, Spanish duro, Portuguese duro, Romanian dur, Occitan dur and Catalan dur.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in the Passion de Clermont (late 10th century), uses it of a thing that is painful or hard to bear; about 1050 the Vie de saint Alexis applies it to a person: Mult fust il dur ki n'estoüst plurer (“very hard he would have been who did not have to weep”).[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense, said of the earth, is found in Chrétien de Troyes (1176–1181).[2][3] Of people it ranged from “unfeeling” to “stoical” (15th century), “slow to perceive” (16th century, as in dur d'oreille) and “harsh, uncompromising” (1775).[3][8] “Difficult” is now one of its commonest senses, often in the negative (c'est pas dur), and the doubled dur dur became fashionable about 1980.[3]

The adverb (12th century, of a helmet dur tempré) means “hard, with force”, as in taper dur (1273) and croire dur comme fer (1877).[3] The noun dates from 1350, un dur à cuire is recorded in 1808, and about 1910 un dur became an underworld word for a tough, aggressive man.[3][2] In slang les durs were a convict's irons (1800) and then the penal colony (1833), and le dur the train (1886).[3] The feminine la dure (about 1460), the bare ground, gave coucher sur la dure and à la dure.[3]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – “Painful”, in the Passion de Clermont.[2]
  • c. 1050 – Of a hard-hearted person, in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • 1176–1181 – La terre dure in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • 1273 – The adverb in taper dur.[3]
  • 1350 – First used as a noun.[2]
  • 1808 – Dur à cuire.[3]
  • 1886 – Le dur “the train” in slang.[3]
  • c. 1910 – Un dur “a tough guy”.[2][3]
  • c. 1980 – Dur dur.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. hard, resisting pressure or touch: le fer est un métal dur.[6][9]
  2. (of food) Tough, stale: viande dure, pain dur, œuf dur, a hard-boiled egg.[6][8]
  3. difficult: c'est dur à comprendre.[3][1]
  4. Harsh, hard to bear: une vie dure, un climat dur.[1][6]
  5. (of a person) severe, unfeeling, strict.[2][7]
  6. Dur d'oreille: hard of hearing.[3]

Adverb

  1. (familiar) Hard, with force: travailler dur, taper dur.[10]

Noun

  1. (familiar) A tough, hard man: un dur, un dur à cuire.[3][2]
  2. (slang) The train: brûler le dur, to travel without a ticket.[10]
  3. En dur: (of a building) made of solid, lasting materials.[10][3]
  4. La dure: the bare ground: coucher sur la dure.[3]

Word family

  • durement
  • dureté
  • durcir
  • durillon
  • endurcir
  • duret
  • endurer
  • Latin dūrus
  • English endure
  • English duress

Usage notes

Durer and its family (durée, durant) are not derived from dur; the feminine dure is a homophone of dure from durer.[6][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 192b
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Dur.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/dur. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·