| Word | durable |
|---|---|
| Date | February 15, 2021 |
| Type | adjective |
| Syllables | DUR-uh-bul |
| Etymology | Something durable lasts a long time, so it's no surprise that the word comes to us, via Anglo-French, from the Latin verb durare, meaning "to last." Other descendants of durare in English include during, endure, and durance (which now mostly turns up in the phrase "in durance vile," a fancy way of saying "in prison"). Durable even has a near synonym in the much rarer perdurable, which combines durare with the prefix per- (meaning "throughout") to create a word that can mean "lasting a very long time or indefinitely" or "eternal." |
| Examples | The couch is covered in an eye-catching yet durable fabric that will last for years. "And yet books about United States presidents—biographies, autobiographies, tell-alls … —have been among the most durable literary genres since the presidency of George Washington." — Christopher Borrelli, The Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2020 |
| Definition | : able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration; also : designed to be durable |
Tags: wordoftheday::adjective
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