tolerare

Tolerare is a Latin verb of the first conjugation meaning to endure, bear, tolerate, or permit. In classical usage it covers bearing hardship, accepting other people’s opinions, and allowing a thing to happen or exist. The verb is transitive and often appears with a direct object in the accusative or with an infinitive clause to express forbearance or permission. It is common in prose, poetry, and inscriptions throughout the Latin literary world.

Morphology and principal parts: Tolerare belongs to the first conjugation. The principal parts are tolero, tolerare, toleravi, toleratum. The present active indicative forms are tolero, toleras, tolerat, toleramus, toleratis, tolerant. The imperfect is tolerabam, tolerabas, tolerabat, tolerabamus, tolerabatis, tolerabant. The perfect is toleravi, toleravisti, toleravit, toleravimus, toleravistis, toleraverunt, with the supine toleratum. Passive forms exist as toleror, toleraris, toleratur, toleramur, toleramini, tolerantur. The verb typically takes a direct object in the accusative or is used with infinitive clauses to express forbearance or permission.

Etymology and cognates: Tolerare derives from Latin toler- meaning “to bear” with the nominal ending -are. It is the source of English tolerate, toleration, and tolerant, and has similar descendants in Romance languages. In English usage, tolerate and its relatives cover both the sense of endurance and the sense of permission or acceptance, reflecting the broad Latin nuance of tolerare.