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duress

[doo-res, dyoo-, door-is, dyoor-]

Origin

noun

compulsion by threat or force; coercion; constraint.

Law. such constraint or coercion as will render void a contract or other legal act entered or performed under its influence.

forcible restraint, especially imprisonment.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English duresse < Middle French duresse, -esce, -ece < Latin dūritia hardness, harshness, oppression, equivalent to dūr(us) hard + -itia -ice

Synonyms
1. intimidation, pressure, bullying, browbeating.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Duress is always a great word to know.

So is contempt. Does it mean:

a warrant issued or ordered by a judge or court for the apprehension of an offender

willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court

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Collins

World English Dictionary

duress (djʊˈrɛs, djʊə-)

—n
1.	compulsion by use of force or threat; constraint; coercion (often in the phrase under duress)
2.	law the illegal exercise of coercion
3.	confinement; imprisonment

[C14: from Old French duresse, from Latin dūritia hardness, from dūrus hard]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

duress

c.1320, "harsh or severe treatment," from O.Fr. duresse, from L. duritia "hardness," from durus "hard" (see endure). Sense of "forcible restraint" is from c.1430; that of "coercion" is from 1596.

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"Suppose someone has frequently flown in his dreams and finally becomes conscious of a power and an art of flying just as soon as he starts dreaming, as though it were his privilege, and also his most personal and enviable happiness: one who believes he can realize every sort of curve and angle with the lightest impulse, who knows the feeling of a certain divine frivolity, an "upwards" without tension or duress, a "downwards" without condescension and humiliation—without gravity! How could a man who enjoyed such dream-experiences and dream-habits fail to discover in the end that the word "happiness" was differently colored and defined in his waking hours as well? How could he fail to—desire happiness differently?"

-Friedrich Nietzsche

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duress

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