different between durable vs steady

English

Etymology

From Middle English durable, from Old French durable, from Latin d?r?bilis (“lasting, permanent”), from d?r? (“harden, make hard”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d(j)????b?l/

Adjective

durable (comparative more durable, superlative most durable)

1. Able to resist wear, decay; lasting; enduring.

Synonyms

• permanent

Antonyms

• weak
• vulnerable
• transitory

Translations

Noun

durable (plural durables)

1. (economics) A durable thing, one useful over more than one period, especially a year.

Antonyms

• nondurable

Translations

Anagrams

• delubra

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin d?r?bilis.

Adjective

durable (epicene, plural durables)

1. durable (able to resist wear; enduring)

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin d?r?bilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /du??a.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /du??a.ble/

Adjective

durable (masculine and feminine plural durables)

1. durable

   Synonym: durador

Related terms

• durabilitat

Further reading

• “durable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “durable” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “durable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “durable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?r?bilis. See durer and -able.

Pronunciation

Adjective

durable (plural durables)

1. durable
2. sustainable

Related terms

• durabilité
• durablement
• développement durable

See also

• écologique, vert

Further reading

• “durable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin d?r?bilis.

Adjective

durable (plural durables)

1. durable

   Synonyms: duradero, perdurable

English

Alternative forms

• steddy, stedy

Etymology

From Middle English stede, stedi, stidi?, from Old English stæþþi?, from stæþ (“stead, bank”); equivalent to stathe +? -y or stead +? -y. Cognate with West Frisian stadich (“slow”), Danish stedig, stadig, steeg, Swedish stadig, Icelandic stöðugur, Middle Dutch stedigh, German stätig, stetig.

Pronunciation

• enPR: st?d?i, IPA^(key): /?st?di/

Adjective

steady (comparative steadier, superlative steadiest)

1. Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.

   • Their feet steady, their hands diligent, their eyes watchful, and their hearts resolute.

   • Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile?; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.

2. Constant in feeling, purpose, or pursuit; not fickle, changeable, or wavering; not easily moved or persuaded to alter a purpose; resolute.
   • 2003, Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: Inserts Only (page 10)

     During programmed changes, no steady green signal indication or flashing yellow signal indication shall be terminated and immediately followed by a steady red or flashing red signal indication without first displaying the steady yellow signal […]

3. Smooth and not bumpy or with obstructions.

4. Regular and even.

5. Slow.

Synonyms

• (firm): robust, solid, untottering
• (constant in purpose or action): dogged, staunch, unyielding; see also Thesaurus:obstinate
• (smooth, not bumpy): fluid
• (regular and even): constant, uniform, unvarying; see also Thesaurus:steady
• (slow): glacial, ponderous, stately; see also Thesaurus:slow

Antonyms

• (regular and even): unsteady; see also Thesaurus:unsteady

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

steady (third-person singular simple present steadies, present participle steadying, simple past and past participle steadied)

1. (transitive, sometimes figuratively) To stabilize; to prevent from shaking.

   I took a drink to steady my nerves.

2. (intransitive) To become stable.
   • 2010, Scott Westerfeld, Leviathan

     The ship steadied in the air. Another spray of ballast came, heavier than the last.

Translations

Noun

steady (plural steadies)

1. A rest or support, as for the hand, a tool, or a piece of work.
2. (informal) A regular boyfriend or girlfriend.
   • 2002, Frederick E. Von Burg, Keep My White Sneakers, Kit Carson, iUniverse (?ISBN), page 13:

     “Dalton is my steady, now. If I break up with him, you're the first on the list.” “Thanks,” said Ted. “What a privilege to be second choice.”

3. (informal) A prostitute's regular customer.

Adverb

steady (not comparable)

1. (rowing, informal) To row with pressure at a low stroke-rating, often 18 strokes per minute.

Further reading

• steady in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• steady in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• steady at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• stayed