tolerabilis

Forms

tolerābilis (neuter tolerābile, comparative tolerābilior, adverb tolerābiliter); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tolerō + -bilis, from the verb “to bear, endure”.^[2][3] De Vaan lists the verb with tollō (“to lift”) and reports Nussbaum's explanation of it as a Latin present ⟨*telh₂-s-⟩ of the root Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“to carry, bear”), cognate with Ancient Greek ἔτλην (étlēn, “I endured”) and Gothic 𐌸𐌿𐌻𐌰𐌽 (þulan, “to endure”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Terence,^[4][5] where it is active, of a father who is a tolerant sort of man.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense is active, tolerant or capable of enduring.^[2] The usual sense is passive, that can be borne, bearable or endurable, as Varro's pruning that is more bearable in winter and Cicero's friendships to be put up with if they are tolerable, and of forces that can be withstood.^[2][3] It is also passable or acceptable at a minimum, as Cicero's remark that hardly even tolerable orators were to be found.^[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “light, bearable”.^[6] English tolerable, from the early 15th century, is from French and directly from Latin.^[7]

Timeline

• 190–159 BC – Terence of a tolerant man.^[2][5]
• 116–27 BC – Varro of work more bearable in winter.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of passable orators and of tolerable friendships.^[2][3][5]
• early 15th century – English tolerable.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Tolerant; able to endure, hardy.^[2]
2. That can be borne, bearable, endurable.^[2][3][1][6]
3. Passable, acceptable.^[2][1]

Word family

• intolerābilis

Related words

• tolerō
• tollō
• English tolerable

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com