Word of the Day : February 15, 2021

durable \DUR-uh-bul\ adjective

Definition

: able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration; also : designed to be durable

Did You Know?

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."

Aired February 15, 2021

All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com