Word of the Day : February 20, 2021

perdure \per-DUR\ verb

Definition

: to continue to exist : last

Did You Know?

Perdure may be an unfamiliar word for many of our readers, but those who suspect they see hints of its ancestry in the more familiar synonym endure are correct. Perdure was borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-French and traces back to the Latin verb perdurare, meaning "to continue." Perdurare, in turn, was formed by combining the intensifying prefix per- with the verb durare, meaning "to last." Durare is also an ancestor of the English words endure, durable, indurate, and during, among others.

Aired February 20, 2021

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