þolir

þolir is an Icelandic word most commonly encountered as the third-person singular present indicative of the verb þola, meaning "to endure," "to tolerate," or "to suffer." In that use, þolir is translated as "he/she/it endures" or "he/she/it tolerates." Example usage in Icelandic might be Hann þolir sársauka ("He endures pain").

The form derives from Old Norse þola, which carried similar senses of bearing, suffering, or holding out. The initial letter þ (thorn) is a character retained in modern Icelandic orthography and represents a voiceless dental fricative sound similar to English th in "thing." The verb þola is productive in contemporary Icelandic and appears across colloquial and literary registers when describing physical endurance, emotional tolerance, or the capacity to withstand adverse conditions.

Beyond the present-tense verb form, related forms and derivatives appear in Icelandic grammar and lexicon (e.g., past participles and nominalizations). Cognates with comparable meanings exist in other Germanic languages historically (Old Norse and Old English). As a lexical item, þolir illustrates both continuity with medieval Norse language and typical patterns of Icelandic verb inflection.