Part 582

Du"ral (?), a. (Anat.) Pertaining to the dura, or dura mater.

||Du"ra ma"ter (?). [L., lit., hard mother. The membrane was called mater, or mother, because it was formerly thought to give rise to every membrane of the body.] (Anat.) The tough, fibrous membrane, which lines the cavity of the skull and spinal column, and surrounds the brain and spinal cord; -- frequently abbreviated to dura.

||Du*ra"men (?), n. [L., hardness, a hardened, i. e., ligneous, vine branch, fr. durare to harden. See Dure.] (Bot.) The heartwood of an exogenous tree.

Dur"ance (?), n. [OF. durance duration, fr. L. durans, -antis, p. pr. durare to endure, last. See Dure, and cf. Durant.] 1. Continuance; duration. See Endurance. [Archaic]

Of how short durance was this new-made state!

Dryden.

2. Imprisonment; restraint of the person; custody by a jailer; duress. Shak. "Durance vile." Burns.

In durance, exile, Bedlam or the mint.

Pope.

3. (a) A stout cloth stuff, formerly made in imitation of buff leather and used for garments; a sort of tammy or everlasting.

Where didst thou buy this buff? let me not live but I will give thee a good suit of durance.

J. Webster.

(b) In modern manufacture, a worsted of one color used for window blinds and similar purposes.

Dur"an*cy (?), n. Duration. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Dur"ant (?), n. [F. durant, p. pr. of durer to last. Cf. Durance.] See Durance, 3.

||Du*ran"te (?), prep. [L., abl. case of the p. pr. of durare to last.] (Law) During; as, durante vita, during life; durante bene placito, during pleasure.

Du*ra"tion (?), n. [OF. duration. See Dure.] The state or quality of lasting; continuance in time; the portion of time during which anything exists.

It was proposed that the duration of Parliament should be limited.

Macaulay.

Soon shall have passed our own human duration.

D. Webster.

Dur"a*tive (?), a. Continuing; not completed; implying duration.

Its durative tense, which expresses the thought of it as going on.

J. Byrne.

Dur"bar (?), n. [Hind. darbr, fr. Per dar&?;r house, court, hall of audience; dar door, gate + br court, assembly.] An audience hall; the court of a native prince; a state levee; a formal reception of native princes, given by the governor general of India. [India] [Written also darbar.]

Dure (?), a. [L. durus; akin to Ir. & Gael. dur &?;, stubborn, W. dir certain, sure, cf. Gr. &?; force.] Hard; harsh; severe; rough; toilsome. [R.]

The winter is severe, and life is dure and rude.

W. H. Russell.