durus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈduː.rʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈduː.rus]^[1]

Forms

dūrus (feminine dūra, neuter dūrum, comparative dūrior, superlative dūrissimus, adverb dūrē or dūriter); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *dūro-, and de Vaan derives it from Proto-Indo-European *du(e)h₂-ro- (“far, long”), with a shift from “lasting long” to “hard”; the verb dūrō “to harden, last” bridges the senses.^[2][1] Cognate on this view with Sanskrit दूर (dūrá, “far, long”) and Ancient Greek δηρός (dērós, “long”), though Wiktionary notes the semantic problems.^[2][1] The Oxford Latin Dictionary and the Thesaurus prefer *drū-ros, related to Old Irish dron (“firm”), Old English trum (“firm, strong”) and Sanskrit दारुण (dāruṇá, “hard, harsh”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was hard to the touch, firm or solid, as Lucretius' hard iron, and harsh to the taste, as Cato's dark harsh wine.^[3][6] Of people it meant hardy and robust, as Cicero's brave and hardy Spartans, unfeeling or stubborn, harsh and pitiless, as Terence's strict father, and austere.^[3]

In medieval Latin it kept the senses “hard, firm”; in music it was used of a note that is not softened, and in anatomy of the dūra māter, the outer membrane of the brain.^[7] It survives as Italian duro, French dur, Spanish duro and Romanian dur.^[1] English dour probably comes directly from it.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][5]
• 190–159 BC – Terence has a father say he was harsh enough.^[3][5]
• mid-14th century – English dour is recorded in Scots and northern English.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Hard, firm, solid.^[3][9]
2. Harsh (to the taste).^[3]
3. Hardy, robust.^[3]
4. Unfeeling, stubborn.^[3]
5. Harsh, pitiless; strict, austere.^[3]
6. (Medieval Latin) Dūra māter, the outer membrane of the brain.^[7]

Word family

• dūracinus
• dureo
• dūricorius
• dūritās
• dūritiēs
• dūritūdō
• dūriusculus
• dūrō
• ēdūrus
• perdūrus
• praedūrus
• subdūrus

Related words

• dūrābilis
• dūrābilitās
• dūrābiliter
• dūrāmen
• dūrāmentum
• dūrātor
• dūrātrīx
• dūrē
• dūrēscō
• dūriter
• English dour
• English endure
• English during

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press