rigour

English

Alternative forms

• rigor (US)

Etymology

From Middle English rigour, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French rigor, from Latin rigor (“stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness”), from rigere (“to be rigid”). Compare French rigueur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɪɡə(ɹ)/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪɡə(ɹ)
• Homophones: rigor, rigger

Noun

rigour (countable and uncountable, plural rigours)

1. Severity or strictness.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 1:13–14:

     And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

2. Harshness, as of climate.
3. A trembling or shivering response.
4. Character of being unyielding or inflexible.
5. Shrewd questioning.
6. Higher level of difficulty. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
7. (British) Misspelling of rigor (“rigor mortis”).

Derived terms

• rigorous

Translations

severity or strictness

• Macedonian: стро́гост f (strógost), су́ровост f (súrovost)
• Russian: стро́гость (ru) f (strógostʹ), суро́вость (ru) f (suróvostʹ), твёрдость (ru) f (tvjórdostʹ)

harshness

• Bulgarian: суровост (bg) f (surovost)
• Finnish: ankaruus (fi), tiukkuus (fi)
• Macedonian: су́ровост f (súrovost)
• Norwegian: vigor m
• Romanian: severitate (ro) f, rigoare (ro) f
• Russian: суро́вость (ru) f (suróvostʹ)

trembling or shivering response

• Russian: оцепене́ние (ru) n (ocepenénije)

character of being unyielding or inflexible

• Bulgarian: непреклонност (bg) f (nepreklonnost)
• Finnish: joustamattomuus
• French: rigueur (fr) f
• Latin: rigor m
• Macedonian: непопу́стливост f (nepopústlivost), неумо́ливост f (neumólivost)
• Romanian: rigurozitate (ro) f, fermitate (ro) f
• Russian: неумоли́мость (ru) f (neumolímostʹ), неукосни́тельность (ru) f (neukosnítelʹnostʹ)

shrewd questioning

higher level of difficulty

• Finnish: vaikeus (fi)
• Macedonian: тешко́тија f (teškótija)
• Portuguese: rigor (pt) m
• Romanian: asprime (ro) f, severitate (ro) f
• Russian: тя́готы pl (tjágoty), тя́жесть (ru) f (tjážestʹ)

an abbreviated form of rigor mortis

• Bulgarian: вкочанясване n (vkočanjasvane)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} rigueur (fr) f
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} rigore (it) m
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} rigor (sh) m

Further reading

• “rigor”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “rigour”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.