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dour

 - 7 dictionary results

dour

[door, douuhr, dou-er]
–adjective
1. sullen; gloomy: The captain's dour look depressed us all.
2. severe; stern: His dour criticism made us regret having undertaken the job.
3. Scot. (of land) barren; rocky, infertile, or otherwise difficult or impossible to cultivate.

Origin:
1325–75; ME < L dūrus dure 1


dourly, adverb
dourness, noun


1. morose, sour, moody. See glum.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dour   (dŏŏr, dour)   
adj.   dour·er, dour·est
  1. Marked by sternness or harshness; forbidding: a dour, self-sacrificing life.

  2. Silently ill-humored; gloomy: the proverbially dour New England Puritan.

  3. Sternly obstinate; unyielding: a dour determination.


[Middle English, possibly from Middle Irish dúr, probably from Latin dūrus, hard; see deru- in Indo-European roots.]
dour'ly adv., dour'ness n.
Usage Note: The word dour, which is etymologically related to duress and endure, traditionally rhymes with tour. The variant pronunciation that rhymes with sour is, however, widely used and must be considered acceptable. In a recent survey, 65 percent of the Usage Panel preferred the traditional pronunciation, and 33 percent preferred the variant.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry:  dour1
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  extremely serious and stern; forbidding
Etymology:  Latin durus 'hard'
Main Entry:  dour2
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  gloomy, sullen
Etymology:  Latin durus 'hard'
Main Entry:  dour3
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  stubborn and obstinate
Etymology:  Latin durus 'hard'
Main Entry:  dour4
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  bleak and gloomy
Etymology:  Latin durus 'hard'
Usage:  meteorology
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Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Word Origin & History

dour 
1375, "severe," from Scottish and northern England dialect, probably from L. durus "hard" (see endure); sense of "gloomy" is c.1470.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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