Phrase guide

dura mater

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌdjʊə.ɹə ˈmeɪ.tə/
  • General-American: /ˈd(j)ʊɹ.ə ˌmeɪ.tɚ/
  • General-American: /ˈd(j)ʊɹ.ə ˌmɑt.ɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪtə(ɹ)

1

noun

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the outermost (and toughest) of the 3 meninges

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dura

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: meninx, meninges

History

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”).

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: الأم الجافية (al-umm al-jāfiya) — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Catalan: duramàter — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Chinese Mandarin: 硬腦膜 /硬脑膜 (yìngnǎomó) — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Chinese Mandarin: 硬脊膜 (yìngjǐmó) — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Chinese Mandarin: 硬膜 (yìngmó) — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Dutch: hard hersenvlies — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Dutch: dura mater — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Finnish: kovakalvo — outermost layer of the meninges
  • French: dure-mère — outermost layer of the meninges
  • German: Dura mater — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Ido: duramatro — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Indonesian: dura mater — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Italian: dura madre — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Italian: duramadre — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Italian: pachimeninge — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Northern Kurdish: perdeya req — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Polish: opona twarda — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Portuguese: dura-máter — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Romanian: dura mater — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Russian: твёрдая мозговая оболочка (tvjórdaja mozgovaja oboločka) — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Serbo-Croatian: tvrda moždana ovojnica — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Spanish: duramadre — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Swedish: hårda hjärnhinnan — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Vietnamese: màng cứng — outermost layer of the meninges
  • Vietnamese: màng nhện — outermost layer of the meninges