Etymologically
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durus

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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
  • 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