See Also: dour(dictionary)
dour(dictionary)

bulwark (oh) and dour (iou)


bulwark (oh)



[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Middle Dutch; Origin: bolwerc, from Middle Low German, from bole 'flat piece of wood' + werc 'work']
something that protects you from an unpleasant situation
bulwark against
::a bulwark against dictatorship
bulwarks [plural] the sides of a boat or ship above the deck
a strong structure like a wall, built for defence

dour (iou)



dour adjective. Orig. Scot. LME.
[Prob. from Gaelic dur dull, stupid, obstinate = Middle & mod. Irish dur, perh. from Latin durus hard.]
Severe, stern, relentless; fierce, bold. Scot. & north. LME.
J. Dalrymple He led a dour and hard lyfe. Lytton Tostig is a man..dour and haughty. F. Ormsby Never again would dour fields lie Quite so forbidding, stones be so bare.
Obstinate, stubborn. Scot. & north. LME.
J. Buchan I know the ways of those London journalists, and they're a dour crop to shift.
Gloomily taciturn; sullen. L15.
P. Theroux These Indians are habitually dourtheir faces wrinkled into frowns. J. Steinbeck She had a dour Presbyterian mind.
dourly adverb L15.
dourness noun LME.