Category:Durance

Dur"ance, n. Etym: [OF. durance duration, fr. L. durans, -antis, p. pr. durare to endure, last. See Dure, and cf. Durant.]

1. Continuance; duration. See Endurance. [Archaic] Of how short durance was this new-made state! Dryden.

2. Imprisonment; restraint of the person; custody by a jailer; duress. Shak. "Durance vile." Burns. In durance, exile, Bedlam or the mint. Pope.

3. (a) A stout cloth stuff, formerly made in imitation of buff leather and used for garments; a sort of tammy or everlasting. Where didst thou buy this buff let me not live but I will give thee a good suit of durance. J. Webster.

(b) In modern manufacture, a worsted of one color used for window blinds and similar purposes.