ˈd(y)u̇rəˌmā]d.ə(r), -ür-, -mä], -mȧ], ]tə, ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ noun
also dura
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin, literally, hard mother
: the tough fibrous membrane lined with endothelium on the inner surface that envelops the brain and spinal cord external to the arachnoid and pia mater, in the cranium closely lining the bone and not dipping down between the convolutions though certain large supporting folds (as the falx cerebri and tentorium cerebelli) are derived from it and containing numerous blood vessels and venous sinuses and in the spinal canal being separated from the bone by a considerable space and containing no venous sinuses