dur French · revision 16443

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont|origins=la dūrus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Europe): /dyʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Canada): /d͡zʏʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dur''' (feminine dure, masculine plural durs, feminine plural dures)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|dūrus|t=hard to the touch; harsh; painful; unfeeling]], with the same range of senses.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|3, 192b) The origin of the Latin word is not established: a dissimilation of an older “*druros” has been proposed, which would connect it with [[sa|दारुण|tr=dāruṇá|t=rough, strong]], [[lt|drūtas|t=strong]] and [[grc|δρῦς|tr=drûs|t=tree]], but Rey calls this weak for lack of parallel examples.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|duro]], [[es|duro]], [[pt|duro]], [[ro|dur]], [[oc|dur]] and [[ca|dur]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==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”).^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The concrete sense, said of the earth, is found in Chrétien de Troyes (1176–1181).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Of people it ranged from “unfeeling” to “stoical” (15th century), “slow to perceive” (16th century, as in ''dur d'oreille'') and “harsh, uncompromising” (1775).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) “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.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The adverb (12th century, of a helmet ''dur tempré'') means “hard, with force”, as in ''taper dur'' (1273) and ''croire dur comme fer'' (1877).^(DHLF 1992) 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.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) In slang ''les durs'' were a convict's irons (1800) and then the penal colony (1833), and ''le dur'' the train (1886).^(DHLF 1992) The feminine ''la dure'' (about 1460), the bare ground, gave ''coucher sur la dure'' and ''à la dure''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 10th century – “Painful”, in the ''Passion de Clermont''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – Of a hard-hearted person, in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176–1181 – ''La terre dure'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1273 – The adverb in ''taper dur''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1350 – First used as a noun.^(TLFi)

+ * 1808 – ''Dur à cuire''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1886 – ''Le dur'' “the train” in slang.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1910 – ''Un dur'' “a tough guy”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1980 – ''Dur dur''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|hard]], resisting pressure or touch: ''le fer est un métal dur''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # (of food) Tough, [[m|en|stale]]: ''viande dure'', ''pain dur'', ''œuf dur'', a hard-boiled egg.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # [[m|en|difficult]]: ''c'est dur à comprendre''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Harsh, hard to bear: ''une vie dure'', ''un climat dur''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # (of a person) [[m|en|severe]], unfeeling, strict.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''Dur d'oreille'': hard of hearing.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(familiar)'' Hard, with force: ''travailler dur'', ''taper dur''.^(Larousse)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(familiar)'' A tough, hard man: ''un dur'', ''un dur à cuire''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(slang)'' The [[m|en|train]]: ''brûler le dur'', to travel without a ticket.^(Larousse)

+ # ''En dur'': (of a building) made of solid, lasting materials.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''La dure'': the bare ground: ''coucher sur la dure''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[durement]]

+ * [[dureté]]

+ * [[durcir]]

+ * [[durillon]]

+ * [[endurcir]]

+ * [[duret]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[endurer]]

+ * [[la|dūrus]]

+ * [[en|endure]]

+ * [[en|duress]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Durer'' and its family (''durée'', ''durant'') are not derived from ''dur''; the feminine ''dure'' is a homophone of ''dure'' from ''durer''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}