English Explanatory Dictionary

dura mater

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The tough and inflexible outermost of the three layers of the meninges, enveloping the brain and spinal cord.

Pronunciation

/ˌdjʊə.ɹə ˈmeɪ.tə/ /ˈd(j)ʊɹ.ə ˌmeɪ.tɚ/ /ˈd(j)ʊɹ.ə ˌmɑt.ɚ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-dura mater.wav

Word forms

dura mater durae matres dura maters dura

Etymology

First attested c. 1400, borrowing from Medieval Latin dūra māter (literally “firm, strict mother”), ellipsis of dūra māter cerebrī (literally “hard mother of the brain”), calque of Arabic أُمّ الدِّمَاغ الصَفِيقَة (ʔumm al-ddimāḡ aṣ-ṣafīqa, literally “thick mother of the brain”).

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on D Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary