English
durain
Durain comes from Latin dūrus ‘hard’, from Proto-Indo-European *dweh₂rós ‘long’, and ultimately from *dweh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dweh₂-1‘long, distant’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dweh₂rós1‘long’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūrus2‘hard’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954durain2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin durus
- 2 Wiktionary, English durain
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Wilfrid Francis, The Coal Series—Terminology, Structure and Petrology: “The comparative absence of durain in many American coals…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dweh₂-Wiktionary, Latin durus‘long, distant’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dweh₂rósWiktionary, Latin durus‘long’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūrusWiktionary, English durain‘hard’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954durainWiktionary, English durain. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Wilfrid Francis, The Coal Series—Terminology, Structure and Petrology: “The comparative absence of durain in many American coals…”
The story
Coined by British birth control campaigner and paleontologist Marie Stopes in 1918.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dweh₂rós ‘long’
through Latin dūrus ‘hard’
duration, endure, durable, durability, durant, duress, dour, dur, durum, 12 more
Today it means
noun A type of coal.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “durain”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin durus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dweh₂- / durain