dureza

Forms

dureza f (plural durezas)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dūritia (“hardness”), from dūrus (“hard”) and the suffix -itia.^[2][3][1][4] The same Latin word is Galician dureza, Spanish dureza, Catalan duresa and Italian durezza.^[5][6][1]

De Vaan traces the Latin adjective to Proto-Indo-European *du(e)h₂-ro- (“far, long”), comparing Sanskrit दूर (dūrá, “far, distant”) and Ancient Greek δηρός (dērós, “long”).^[7] Wiktionary also gives the alternative of a root meaning “hard, firm”.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss and Cunha date the word to the 14th century.^[2][3] In the corpus of old Portuguese prose its first record is the Horto do Esposo, copied 1390–1437.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712) gives the physical sense, the hardness of iron or stone, beside dureza do coraçaõ, hardness of heart, and the doctors' dureza de ventre, constipation.^[10] Morais (1789) adds constancy, dureza da paciência.^[11] Science gave it new uses: Vieira (1871–1874) describes how the hardness of minerals is compared by scratching, and later dictionaries add the hardness of water rich in calcium salts and the energy of X-rays.^[12][13][14] In Brazil a dureza is also a swelling or hardening felt in an internal organ, especially the spleen, and, informally, being short of money: estar na maior dureza.^[2][13][1]

Timeline

• 14th century – first record.^[2][3]
• c. 1430 – dureza in the Horto do Esposo.^[9]
• 1569 – Cardoso renders it with Latin duricies and duritia.^[15]
• 1712 – Bluteau records dureza do coraçaõ and dureza de ventre.^[10]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira describes the hardness of minerals.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. hardness: the quality of something that resists pressure or cutting: a dureza do granito.^[2][14][1]
2. The quality of being hard to bear: a dureza do trabalho no campo.^[2][16]
3. severity, harshness; cruelty.^[2][14][1]
4. A hard or unpleasant expression of the face or eyes.^[2][13]
5. Lack of delicacy or harmony, in verse, painting or features.^[17][16]
6. (mineralogy) The resistance of a mineral to scratching.^[14][13][18]
7. (chemistry) The property of water rich in calcium or magnesium salts, which lathers poorly with soap.^[14][16][19]
8. (physics) The energy of X-rays or gamma rays.^[14]
9. (medicine) A hardened or swollen organ felt on palpation, especially the spleen.^[2][19][17]
10. (Brazil, informal) Being broke; lack of money.^[2][13][1]

Related words

• duro
• durar
• endurecer
• Latin dūrus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. dureza
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. dureza
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. dūritia
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2806
6. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. duritia
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. durus
9. ^ a b Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. dureza
10. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. dureza
11. ^ Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 459
12. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 2, 1150
13. ^ a b c d e Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. dureza
14. ^ a b c d e f Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. dureza
15. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. dureza
16. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. dureza
17. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. dureza
18. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 3302
19. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. dureza