durance Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun imprisonment (especially for a long time)

WordNet

Dur"ance noun
Etymology
OF. durance duration, fr. L. durans, -antis, p. pr. durare to endure, last. See Dure, and cf. Durant.
Definitions
  1. Continuance; duration. See Endurance. Archaic
    Of how short durance was this new-made state! Dryden.
  2. Imprisonment; restraint of the person; custody by a jailer; duress. Shak. "Durance vile." Burns.
    In durance, exile, Bedlam or the mint. Pope.
  3. (a) A stout cloth stuff, formerly made in imitation of buff leather and used for garments; a sort of tammy or everlasting.
    Where didst thou buy this buff? let me not live but I will give thee a good suit of durance. J. Webster.
    (b) In modern manufacture, a worsted of one color used for window blinds and similar purposes.

Webster 1913