"non-durable" - Word of the Day from the OED

OED Online Word of the Day

Now available: the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary

This new print publication provides a unique resource for scholars researching linguistic and literary history, the history of the language, social history, and more. Read more and see a sample page.

"An indispensable tool for writers." –School Library Journal.

The updated Second Edition of the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus is more exceptional than ever, solidifying its place as the one thesaurus writers at all levels will want to have. A perfect graduation gift!

---

non-durable, adj. and n.

DRAFT ENTRY Mar. 2010

Brit. /nndjrbl/, /nndrbl/, /nndjrbl/, /nndrbl/, U.S. /nnd(j)rb()l/  [< NON- prefix + DURABLE adj.] 

    A. adj.

    1. That is not durable; that does not last.

1885 E. ABBOTT Francis Bacon, Acct. Life & Works 401 We ought therefore to inquire about the nature of durable and non-durable bodies (stones and vegetables, as well as animals). 1906 Biometrika 4 395 He frankly tells you that he can approximately catch the artist's shades, but that he can only do so by using non-durable printer's inks. 1966 Encycl. N.Z. I. 724/1 As building authorities have rightly been unwilling to accept this non-durable sap-timber, a sizable timber preservation industry has grown up. 1992 Brit. Jrnl. Middle Eastern Stud. 19 144 (title) Durable and non-durable dynasties.

    2. spec. Designating a class of perishable or relatively short-lived goods produced for immediate use and frequently replaced by the consumer, such as food, clothing, fuel, etc.

1935 Jrnl. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 30 363 Recently the Federal Reserve Board separated the weighted series which compose its index of manufactures into two groups which it designates as ‘durable products’ and ‘non-durable products’. 1988 A. WALKER Enemy Territory 99 They came to expect it to be right and natural that they should have consumer durables (and increasingly non-durable goods). 1996 Sunday Times (Electronic ed.) 25 Aug., Manufacturers foresee ‘steady growth in demand for most categories of durable and non-durable goods’.

    B. n.    In pl Non-durable consumer goods.

1934 Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier 29 Sept. 4/5 The big manufactures of steel,..etc. are still bumping the depression bottom while the makers of non-durables,..were nearly back to the 1923-25 level. 1946 Business Conditions (Federal Reserve Bank Chicago) Dec. 3/1 Wartime trends in non-durable goods employment differed from those in durable goods in two ways: (1) the peak occurred earlier in non-durables. 1965 H. I. ANSOFF Corporate Strategy (1968) v. 87 Producers of durables and non-durables. 1993 San Francisco Examiner 1 Aug. E2/6, I would say consumer non-durables by and large have been disappointing.

To cancel this service, send a message to wotd@oed.com consisting of the text signoff oedwotd-l and leave the subject line blank . Alternatively, use this unsubscribe mail link.

Written requests to unsubscribe may be sent to:

Online Products
Oxford University Press
Great Clarendon Street
Oxford OX2 6DP
UK

Visit the OED's home page at www.oed.com

Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer

This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications.