Induration

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɪndjʊˈɹeɪʃən/

Definitions

1. The process of hardening or becoming hard and firm, particularly of body tissue or soil that has lost its moisture and become compact
2. The process or state of tissue, soil, or other material becoming abnormally hard and less resilient through loss of moisture or pathological change
3. A condition in which organic matter or bodily structures undergo hardening and compaction, becoming denser and more resistant to deformation

Etymology: "Induration" comes from Latin "indurare," meaning "to make hard," built from the prefix "in-" and "durare," "to harden," which is related to "durus," "hard." The same Latin root gives English "endure," which originally meant to last or harden through hardship, and "durable." The noun "induratio" came into use in Latin for hardening, and it reached English through Old French "induracion," meaning "hardness" or "obstinacy," and appeared in Middle English as "induracioun." The sense of obstinacy in the French source is a notable connection: the word could describe a hardened heart or stubborn mind as readily as a hardened object. English kept the physical sense for most of its later history, applying it to tissue, soil, and clay that have lost moisture and grown compact. Medical writers later used it for the hardening of tissue after inflammation, a sense that remains standard in pathology.

Synonyms: hardening, stiffening, thickening

Antonyms: softening, deterioration