Durance

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒʊəɹəns/

Definitions

1. The state characterized by long-lasting confinement or restriction
2. The condition of being kept under restraint for an extended period
3. A situation where someone or something is held captive for a prolonged time

Etymology: "Durance" is one of those words that has drifted so far from its roots that its original sense is almost the reverse of its modern one. Its ancestor is the Old French "durer," meaning "to last," which also gave English "endure." The Old French noun "durance" simply meant duration, the length of time something goes on, and only later narrowed toward a period of hardship that has to be endured. That narrowing is the key shift. A neutral measure of time became a measure of suffering, and the sense "imprisonment" grew out of it, so that in English "durance" now implies confinement that lasts a long while. Its meaning is therefore closer to "endurance" in spirit than to the plain idea of lasting.

Synonyms: duration, time, period, continuance, length