Etymology: < post-classical Latin obduratus hardened, hardened in heart (5th cent. in Augustine), past participle (frequently used as adjective) of classical Latin obdūrāre obdurate v. Compare Italian †obdurato (a1342). Compare earlier indurate adj. N.E.D. (1902) also gives the pronunciation (ǫ̆bdiū^ə·rĕt) /əbˈdjʊərət/. All editions of D. Jones Eng. Pronouncing Dict. up to and including the 14th (1977) also record variant pronunciations with stress on the second syllable; this stress pattern is also noted by Webster (1934) as common in poetic usage. The metre in quot. 1615 at sense A. 1b implies stress on the first syllable. However, the 17th-cent. orthoepist C. Cooper places the stress on the second syllable. Such variation is common in trisyllabic words borrowed from Latin, and is frequently noted in early modern English sources (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §2). Compare obdurance n.

Etymology: Partly < classical Latin obdūrāt-, past participial stem (compare -ate suffix³) of obdūrāre to make hard, harden, also to be persistent, hold out, endure, spec. in post-classical Latin to harden the heart against God (Vetus Latina, Vulgate, though the latter more commonly has indurare indurate v.) < ob- ob- prefix + dūrāre dure v., and partly < obdurate adj. Compare earlier indurate v., and also perdurate v. N.E.D. (1902) gives the pronunciation as (ǫ·bdiureⁱt, ǫ̆bdiū^ə·reⁱt) /ˈɒbdjʊreɪt/ /əbˈdjʊəreɪt/.