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Webster 1913 Edition
Sufferance
Suf′fer-ance
,Noun.
[OE.
suffrance
, OF. sufrance
, soufrance
, F. souffrance
, L. sufferentia
, from sufferens
, -entis
, p. pr. of sufferre
. See Suffer
.] 1.
The state of suffering; the bearing of pain; endurance.
He must not only die the death,
But thy unkindness shall his death draw out
To lingering
But thy unkindness shall his death draw out
To lingering
sufferance
. Shakespeare
2.
Pain endured; misery; suffering; distress.
The seeming
sufferances
that you had borne. Shakespeare
3.
Loss; damage; injury.
[Obs.]
A grievous . . .
sufferance
on most part of their fleet. Shakespeare
4.
Submission under difficult or oppressive circumstances; patience; moderation.
Chaucer.
But hasty heat tempering with
sufferance
wise. Spenser.
5.
Negative consent by not forbidding or hindering; toleration; permission; allowance; leave.
Shak.
In their beginning they are weak and wan,
But soon, through
But soon, through
sufferance
, grow to fearful end. Spenser.
Somewhiles by
sufferance
, and somewhiles by special leave and favor, they erected to themselves oratories. Hooker.
6.
A permission granted by the customs authorities for the shipment of goods.
[Eng.]
Estate of sufferance
(Law)
, the holding by a tenant who came in by a lawful title, but remains, after his right has expired, without positive leave of the owner.
Blackstone.
– On sufferance
, by mere toleration;
as, to remain in a house
.on sufferance
Syn. – Endurance; pain; misery; inconvenience; patience; moderation; toleration; permission.
Webster 1828 Edition
Sufferance
SUF'FERANCE
,Noun.
He must not only die,
But thy unkindness shall the death draw out
To ling'ring sufferance.
1.
Patience; moderation; a bearing with patience. But hasty heat temp'ring with sufferance wise.
2.
Toleration; permission; allowance; negative consent by not forbidding or hindering. In process of time, sometimes by sufferance, sometimes by special leave and favor, they erected to themselves oratories.
In their beginning, they are weak and wan,
But soon through sufferance grow to fearful end.
An estate at sufferance, in law, is where a person comes into possession of land by lawful title, but keeps it after the title ceases, without positive leave of the owner.
Definition 2024
sufferance
sufferance
English
Alternative forms
- sufferaunce (obsolete)
Noun
sufferance (countable and uncountable, plural sufferances)
- (archaic) Endurance, especially patiently, of pain or adversity.
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)
- but hasty heat tempering with sufferance wise
- 1826, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, The Last Man, chapter 4:
- I indulged in this meditation for a moment, and then again addressed the mourner, who stood leaning against the bed with that expression of resigned despair, of complete misery, and a patient sufferance of it, which is far more touching than any of the insane ravings or wild gesticulation of untamed sorrow.
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)
- Acquiescence or tacit compliance with some circumstance, behavior, or instruction.
- Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–1599)
- In their beginning they are weak and wan, / But soon, through sufferance, grow to fearful end.
- Richard Hooker (1554-1600)
- Somewhiles by sufferance, and somewhiles by special leave and favour, they erected to themselves oratories.
- 1910, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Lady Good-for-Nothing, chapter 20:
- When his talk trespasses beyond sufferance, I chastise him.
- Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–1599)
- (archaic) Suffering; pain, misery.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.37:
- The sufferances which simply touch us in minde, doe much lesse afflict me, then most men […].
- 1612, William Shakespeare, King Henry VIII, act 2, scene 3:
- 'Tis a sufferance panging / As soul and body's severing.
- 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.147:
- the streak / Of sufferance yet upon his forehead lay, / Where the blue veins looked shadowy, shrunk, and weak […].
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.37:
- (obsolete) Loss; damage; injury.
- William Shakespeare (c. 1564–1616)
- a grievous […] sufferance on most part of their fleet
- William Shakespeare (c. 1564–1616)
- (Britain, historical) A permission granted by the customs authorities for the shipment of goods.
Related terms
References
The noun sufferance is listed in following dictionaries:
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