sufferance
/ˈsʌf(ə)ɹəns/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.84 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Acquiescence or tacit compliance with some circumstance, behavior, or instruction.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A permission granted by the customs authorities for the shipment of goods.
British usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "At length when as he ſaw her haſtie heat / Abate, and panting breath begin to fayle, / He through long ſufferãce growing now more great, / Roſe in his strength, and gan her freſh aſſayle, [...]"
- "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."
- "In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for the select circle—a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening for a pipe and a cheerful glass. [...] Strangers might enter the room, but they were made to feel that they were there on sufferance; they were received with distance and suspicion."
- "[M]oſt wretched man, / That to affections does the bridle lend; / In their beginning they are weake and wan, / But ſoone through ſuff'rance growe to fearefull end; [...]"
- "Somewhiles by sufferance, and somewhiles by special leave and favour, they erected to themselves oratories."
- "When his talk trespasses beyond sufferance, I chastise him."
Etymology
From Middle English sufferaunce, from Anglo-Norman suffraunce, from Late Latin sufferentia. By surface analysis, suffer + -ance.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: sufferaunce, suffraunce, sufferentia
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈsʌf(ə)ɹəns/
Usage
- Archaic
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Obsolete
- British usage