dour

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dʊɹ/ UK /dʊə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
stern, gloomy, or forbidding in manner or appearance

The dour innkeeper barely acknowledged his guests.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · stern, gloomy, or... stern grim gloomy forbidding sullen austere morose

Opposites

genial cheerful affable amiable

Word family

Derived forms dourlydourness

Related forms duress durable

Simplified etymology

Dour, recorded since the late Middle Ages, probably comes from Scottish Gaelic dúr, meaning “dull, obstinate, stupid.” The Gaelic word may ultimately derive from Latin durus, “hard.”

Etymology

From Scots and northern English, probably from Latin durus ('hard, stern'), perhaps via Scottish Gaelic dùr ('dull, obstinate').

durus Latin *deru- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# dour

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /dʊɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /dʊə/

## Meanings
1. stern, gloomy, or forbidding in manner or appearance

## Examples
- The dour innkeeper barely acknowledged his guests.

## Synonyms
- stern
- grim
- gloomy
- forbidding
- sullen
- austere
- morose

## Antonyms
- genial
- cheerful
- affable
- amiable

## Derived Forms
- dourly
- dourness

## Related Forms
- duress
- durable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: durus
- Root: *deru-

## Etymology
From Scots and northern English, probably from Latin durus ('hard, stern'), perhaps via Scottish Gaelic dùr ('dull, obstinate').

## AI Etymology
Dour is from Scots and northern English, probably from Latin durus ('hard, stern'), perhaps via Scottish Gaelic dùr ('dull, obstinate'). In present-day use, it means stern, gloomy, or forbidding in manner or appearance. Derived formations include dourly and dourness. Related vocabulary includes duress and durable.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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