Outdure

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To continue existing for a longer time than another thing or person does, outlasting it
2. To remain through a period that another thing has failed to survive, enduring beyond its limit
3. To endure past the point at which something else has ended, lasting on after it has passed away

Etymology: "Outdure" is a plain compound: the prefix "out-" joined to "dure," the old verb meaning "to last" or "to endure." Together they mean to outlast or to hold out longer than something else, so the word describes staying power in a contest of endurance rather than simple survival. "Dure" itself came into English from Old French "durer," which descended from Latin "durare," "to harden, to last," the same root that gives "durable" and "during." The English verb was therefore already a borrowed, long-lived word before "out-" was attached to it. Because "outdure" is built from familiar parts, its meaning can be read straight off the pieces. The "out-" prefix, used in many English verbs such as "outrun" and "outlive," signals surpassing or going beyond, so the compound simply means to last beyond another thing.