duress

English

/djʊˈɹɛs/, /duˈɹɛs/

noun
Definitions
  • (obsolete) Harsh treatment.
  • Constraint by threat.
  • (legal) Restraint in which a person is influenced, whether by lawful or unlawful forceful compulsion of their liberty by monition or implementation of physical enforcement; legally for the incurring of civil liability, of a citizen's arrest, or of subrogation, or illegally for the committing of an offense, of forcing a contract, or of using threats.

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French duresse derived from Latin duritia (hardness).

Origin

Latin

duritia

Gloss

hardness

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms