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Webster 1913 Edition

Abide

A-bide′

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Abode
, formerly
Abid
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Abiding
.]
[AS.
ābīdan
; pref.
ā-
(cf. Goth.
us-
, G.
er-
, orig. meaning
out
) +
bīdan
to bide. See
Bide
.]
1.
To wait; to pause; to delay.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
2.
To stay; to continue in a place; to have one’s abode; to dwell; to sojourn; – with with before a person, and commonly with at or in before a place.
Let the damsel abide with us a few days.
Gen. xxiv. 55.
3.
To remain stable or fixed in some state or condition; to continue; to remain.
Let every man
abide
in the same calling.
1 Cor. vii. 20.
Followed by by:
To abide by
.
(a)
To stand to; to adhere; to maintain.

The poor fellow was obstinate enough
to abide by
what he said at first.
Fielding.
(b)
To acquiesce; to conform to;
as,
to abide by
a decision or an award
.

A-bide′

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To wait for; to be prepared for; to await; to watch for;
as, I
abide
my time
.
“I will abide the coming of my lord.”
Tennyson.
[[Obs.], with a personal object.
Bonds and afflictions
abide
me.
Acts xx. 23.
2.
To endure; to sustain; to submit to.
[Thou] shalt
abide
her judgment on it.
Tennyson.
3.
To bear patiently; to tolerate; to put up with.
She could not
abide
Master Shallow.
Shakespeare
4.
[Confused with aby to pay for. See
Aby
.]
To stand the consequences of; to answer for; to suffer for.
Dearly I
abide
that boast so vain.
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Abide

ABI'DE

,
Verb.
I.
pert. and part. abode.
abada, to be, or exist, to continue; W. bod, to be; to dwell, rest, continue, stand firm, or be stationary for anytime indefinitely. Class Bd. No 7.]
1.
To rest, or dwell. Gen. xxix 19.
2.
To tarry or stay for a short time. Gen. xxiv. 55.
3.
To continue permanently or in the same state; to be firm and immovable. Ps. cxix. 90.
4.
To remain, to continue. Acts, xxvii. 31. Eccles. viii. 15.

ABI'DE

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To wait for; to be prepared for; to await.
Bonds and afflictions abide me. Acts, 20:23.
[For is here understood.]
2.
To endure or sustain.
To abide the indignation of the Lord. Joel 10.
3.
To bear or endure; to bear patiently. 'I cannot abide his impertinence.'
This verb when intransitive, is followed by in or at before the place, and with before the person. 'Abide with me - at Jerusalem or in this land.' Sometimes by on, the sword shall abide on his cities; and in the sense of wait, by far, abide for me. Hosea, iii. 3. Sometimes by by, abide by the crib. Job, xxxix.
In general, abide by signifies to adhere to, maintain defend, or stand to, as to abide by a promise, or by a friend; or to suffer the consequences, as to abide by the event, that is, to be fixed or permanent in a particular condition.

Definition 2024

abide

abide

English

Verb

abide ‎(third-person singular simple present abides, present participle abiding, simple past abode or abided, past participle abode or abided or (rare) abidden)

  1. Accept, comply or act in accordance.
    The new teacher was strict and the students did not want to abide by his rules.‎
  2. (intransitive, obsolete) To wait in expectation. [Attested from prior to 1150 until the mid 17th century.][2]
  3. (intransitive, obsolete) To pause; to delay. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the mid 17th century.][2]
  4. (intransitive) To stay; to continue in a place; to remain stable or fixed in some state or condition; to be left. [First attested from around (1150 to 1350).][2]
  5. (intransitive, archaic) To have one's abode; to dwell; to reside; to sojourn. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).][2]
  6. (intransitive) To endure; to remain; to last. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).][2]
    • 1998, Sam Elliot as Narrator, The Big Lebowski:
      The Dude abides.
  7. (transitive) To stand ready for; to await for someone; watch for. [First attested prior to around 1150.][2]
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter viij, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIII:
      Allas sayd she that euer I sawe yow / but he that suffred vpon the crosse for alle mankynde he be vnto yow good conduyte and saufte / and alle the hole felauship / Ryght soo departed Launcelot / & fond his felauship that abode his comyng / and so they mounted on their horses / and rode thorou the strete of Camelot
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Acts 20:23:
      Bonds and afflictions abide me.
    • 1856-1885, Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King:
      I will abide the coming of my lord.
  8. (transitive) To endure without yielding; to withstand; await defiantly; to encounter; to persevere. [First attested from around (1150 to 1350).][2]
    The old oak tree abides the wind endlessly.‎
  9. (transitive, obsolete) To endure or undergo a hard trial or a task; to stand up under. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the early 18th century.][2]
    • 1856-1885, Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King:
      […] And shalt abide her judgment on it.
  10. (transitive) To await submissively; accept without question; submit to. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).][2]
    • 1597, William Shakespeare, Richard II:
      To abide thy kingly doom.
  11. (transitive) To bear patiently; to tolerate; to put up with; stand. [First attested in the late 15th century.][2]
  12. (transitive) To pay for; to stand the consequences of; to answer for; to suffer for; to atone for. [First attested in the late 16th century.][2]
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
      How dearly I abide that boast so vain, […]
  13. A component in at least one phrasal verb: abide by.

Usage notes

  • (bear patiently): Used in the negative form can't abide is used to indicate strong dislike.

Related terms

Translations

See also

References

  1. ↑ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], ISBN 0-87779-101-5), page 3
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 4

Etymology

From Middle English abiden, from Old English ābīdan ‎(“to abide, wait, remain, delay, remain behind; survive; wait for, await; expect”), from Proto-Germanic *uzbīdaną ‎(“to expect, tolerate”), equivalent to a- +‎ bide. Cognate with Scots abyde ‎(“to abide, remain”), Middle High German erbīten ‎(“to await, expect”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 ‎(usbeidan, “to expect, await, have patience”). The sense of pay for is due to influence from aby.[1]

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