[Loch-Ruadh] word for the day

[Jane Sitton]

Your daily vocabulary lesson:
duress * \dur-RESS\ * (noun) 1 : forcible restraint or restriction *2 :
compulsion by threat; specifically : unlawful constraint
Example sentence: The suspect made a confession, but later, in court, his
lawyer claimed that he had made it under duress.
Did you know? "Duress" is a word of hardy stock. It has been a part of the
English language since the 14th century, and has a number of long-lived
relatives. "Duress" itself came into Middle English through the Middle
French "duresce" (meaning "hardness" or "severity"), which stems from the
Latin "durus," meaning "hard." Some obvious relatives of this robust root
are "durable," "endure" and "obdurate" (meaning "unyielding" or "hardened in
feelings"). Some others are "dour" (meaning "harsh," "unyielding," or
"gloomy") and "during." Some think the Latin word "durus" is related to the
Sanskrit "daru," which means "wood."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.