Durée

Durée is the French word for the length of time something lasts. In general usage, it denotes the span or interval between the beginning and end of an event, process, or state. The term appears in many scientific and humanities disciplines and is often translated into English as duration.

In philosophy, durée (notably in the work of Henri Bergson) is a central concept describing time as a qualitative, subjective flow; it contrasts with quantitative, measured time. For Bergson, durée is heterogeneous and continuous, built from memory and perception, and cannot be reduced to spatialized instants. The idea influenced debates on consciousness, time, and freedom, and it remains a reference point in phenomenology and modern philosophy of time.

In linguistics and phonetics, durée refers to the duration of speech sounds, including vowels and consonants; it is a key parameter in phonology, prosody, and speech synthesis. Differences in durational length can signal meaning, emphasis, or grammatical distinctions in many languages.

In music, durée corresponds to the temporal length of tones, rests, and musical phrases; in notation, it is linked to rhythm and tempo. In film and media, durée can describe the total running time of a work or the duration of individual shots or segments, with editors and composers often manipulating duration to shape perception and pacing.

Across fields, durée consistently concerns temporal extent and the measurement or perception of how long things endure, reflecting both objective timing and the subjective experience of time.