duro Italian · revision 37864

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Venetian Proverbia|origins=itc-pro *dūros}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdu.ro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''duro''' (feminine dura, masculine plural duri, feminine plural dure, superlative durissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|dūrus|t=hard, solid; harsh]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The word is pan-Romance, found also in Dalmatian and Sardinian but not in Romanian: [[fr|dur]], [[oc|dur]], [[ca|dur]], [[es|duro]], [[pt|duro]], [[dlm|doir]] and [[sc|duru]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1404) [[cy|dur|t=steel]] comes from it too.^(REW 1935)

+

+ DELI calls the origin of the Latin word uncertain.^(DELI 1999) De Vaan derives it from [[itc-pro|*dūros]], [[ine-pro|*duh₂-ró-s|t=far, long]], the source of [[sa|दूर|tr=dūrá|t=far, distant]] and [[grc|δηρός|tr=dērós|t=long]]; on this view the sense went from “long-lasting” to “hard”, with [[m|la|dūrō|t=to harden; to last]] as the link.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The OLD and Devoto start instead from ⟨*drū-ros⟩, which they connect with words for “firm, strong” such as [[lt|drūtas]] and [[ang|trum]] and, in DEI's view, with the name of the oak, [[grc|δρῦς|tr=drûs]].^(OLD 2012)^(Devoto 1968)^(DEI|1404)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'', of the last quarter of the 12th century.^(TLIO) The first sense DELI dates is figurative, “stubborn”, in Cielo d'Alcamo before 1250; the physical sense “hard to scratch” is in Bono Giamboni before 1292.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT's earliest date, before 1250, is for the sense “harsh-tasting” of wine.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the word for people as well as things: “cruel, pitiless” before 1290 (Guido delle Colonne), “hard to bear, wearisome” before 1348, “strong, sturdy” before 1400 and “slow-witted” before 1410.^(DELI 1999) Dante has “il senso lor m'è duro” (their meaning is hard for me), and Petrarch uses it for grief.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Prati 1951|396) As a noun, ''il duro'' meant “the difficulty” (before 1742) and, from the 1950s “a tough guy”, an actor who plays such parts or a political hard-liner.^(DELI 1999) In music ''duro'' meant “major” in the 15th century, and the term was calqued in French and English.^(DIFIT)

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+ Many fixed phrases are figurative: ''duro d'orecchi'' “hard of hearing”, ''osso duro'' “a tough nut”, ''testa dura'' “a stubborn person”, ''a muso duro'' “bluntly”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) In science and technology the adjective names ''acqua dura'' “hard water”, ''grano duro'' “durum wheat” and ''droga dura'' “hard drug”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' use the word.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1250 – Cielo d'Alcamo uses it for “stubborn”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1290 – Guido delle Colonne uses it for “cruel”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “hard to scratch”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1420–1447 – ''duro'' “major” in music.^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1742 – The noun ''il duro'' “the difficulty”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1957–1958 – Guido Piovene uses ''duro'' for “a tough guy”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|hard]], resisting pressure, cutting or scratching: ''Il marmo è più duro del legno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # not soft, firm, (of bread) stale, (of meat) tough, (of a key, lever) stiff: ''un letto troppo duro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' hard to bear, [[m|en|harsh]]: ''un clima duro'', ''giorni duri''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # difficult, demanding: ''un esame duro'', ''un allenamento duro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' strict, [[m|en|stern]], unfeeling: ''Sei troppo duro con lui.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # slow to understand: ''duro di comprendonio''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(vulgar)'' of the penis, erect.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # a tough person; a hard-liner: ''fare il duro''.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # hard, with effort: ''lavorare duro''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[durezza]]

+ * [[duramente]]

+ * [[indurire]]

+ * [[indurimento]]

+ * [[durone]]

+ * [[durometro]]

+ * [[durame]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[durare]]

+ * [[durevole]]

+ * [[la|dūrus]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ A minor homograph, ''duro'' (from 1869), is the Spanish silver coin first struck in the 16th century, later the five-peseta piece; it is [[es|duro]], short for ''peso duro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DEI|1404)^(GDLI|4, 1040)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}