þoli

Þoli is an Icelandic noun meaning endurance, tolerance, or the capacity to withstand hardship. In everyday usage it denotes the ability to persevere through difficulties, as well as the tolerance of conditions or other people. The term can cover physical, mental, and social dimensions of resilience and is used across a range of contexts, from sports and work to everyday challenges.

Etymology and related forms: The word derives from Old Norse forms such as þól or þola, meaning to tolerate or endure. In Icelandic it is built from this root and is cognate with similar North Germanic terms in other languages, such as Swedish tåla and Danish tåle, reflecting a shared linguistic heritage for enduring or tolerating.

Usage and sense: In modern Icelandic, þoli appears in discussions of personal resilience and endurance, as well as in statements about tolerance toward people or circumstances. It is related to other terms that express patience or steadfastness, including þolinmæði (patience) and endurþol (endurance), and it interacts with the verbal form þola (to endure or tolerate).

See also: endurþol; þolinmæði; þola; tolerance in Nordic languages.