dour
UK /ˈdʊə/ · US /ˈdʊɹ/ adjective
Forms dourer dourest dours
- adjective Stern, harsh and forbidding.
- adjective Unyielding and obstinate.
- adjective Expressing gloom or melancholy.
Synonyms
forbidding harsh severe stern stubborn dejected gloomy melancholic sullen dogged persistent pertinacious tenacious unyielding grim dark glowering glum moody morose saturnine sour
Etymology
Borrowed from Scots dour, possibly from Latin dūrus (“hard, stern”), via Middle Irish dúr.
Compare French dur, Catalan dur, Italian duro, Portuguese duro, Romanian dur, Spanish duro. Doublet of dure.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Cf. F. dur, L. durus.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dour”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details