- duress
- duress early 14c., "harsh or severe treatment," from O.Fr. duresse, from L. duritia "hardness," from durus "hard" (see ENDURE (Cf. endure)). Sense of "coercion, compulsion" is from 1590s.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
duress
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duress — du·ress /du̇ res, dyu̇ / n [Anglo French duresce, literally, hardness, harshness, from Old French, from Latin duritia, from durus hard]: wrongful and usu. unlawful compulsion (as threats of physical violence) that induces a person to act against… … Law dictionary
duress — du‧ress [djʊˈres ǁ dʊ ] noun [uncountable] LAW the illegal or unfair use of force or threats to make someone do something: • He claimed that he had signed the contract under duress. * * * duress UK US /djʊˈres/ noun [U] LAW ► threats used to… … Financial and business terms
Duress — Du*ress , v. t. To subject to duress. The party duressed. Bacon. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Duress — Du ress, n. [OF. duresse, du?, hardship, severity, L. duritia, durities, fr. durus hard. See {Dure}.] 1. Hardship; constraint; pressure; imprisonment; restraint of liberty. [1913 Webster] The agreements . . . made with the landlords during the… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
duress — ► NOUN ▪ threats or violence used to coerce a person into doing something: confessions extracted under duress. ORIGIN originally in the sense harshness, cruel treatment : from Latin durus hard … English terms dictionary
duress — [doo res′, dyoores′] n. [ME dures < OFr durece < L duritia, hardness, harshness < durus, hard < IE base * deru , tree, oak (orig. ? hard) > TREE] 1. imprisonment 2. the use of force or threats; compulsion [a confession signed under … English World dictionary
duress — constraint, coercion, compulsion, violence, *force, restraint … New Dictionary of Synonyms
duress — [n] threat, hardship bondage, captivity, coercion, compulsion, confinement, constraint, control, detention, discipline, force, imprisonment, incarceration, pressure, restraint, violence; concepts 14,674 … New thesaurus
Duress — For English law on the criminal defences, see duress in English law. For the American film, see Duress (film) … Wikipedia
duress — Any unlawful threat or coercion used by a person to induce another to act (or to refrain from acting) in a manner he or she otherwise would not (or would). Subjecting person to improper pressure which overcomes his will and coerces him to comply… … Black's law dictionary
