What does tolerō mean in Latin?

tolerō, a verb, means “to bear, endure, tolerate, put up with, support; to sustain (with the notion of barely doing so)”.

What are the principal parts of tolerō?

tolerō, tolerāre, tolerāvī, tolerātum (first conjugation).

How do you pronounce tolerō?

In classical Latin, [ˈtɔ.ɫɛ.roː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈtɔː.le.ro].

Which English words come from tolerō?

English words that go back to Latin tolerō include tolerate, tolerant, tolerance, tolerable, intolerant and intolerable.

verbfirst conjugation

tolerō

tolerō (present infinitive tolerāre, perfect active tolerāvī, supine tolerātum)

Classical[ˈtɔ.ɫɛ.roː]Ecclesiastical[ˈtɔː.le.ro]

Meaning

to bear, endure, tolerate, put up with, support
to sustain (with the notion of barely doing so)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

patienter sustentō

endure; sustain

tolerō -āre — in De Bello Gallico III, ch. 19, 20

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Ferre · Tolerare · Perferre · Perpeti · Sustinere · Sinere · Sustentare.

Ferre; Tolerare; Perferre; Perpeti; Sustinere; Sinere; Sustentare. 1. Ferre (φέρειν) represents the bearing, only with reference to the burden which is borne, altogether objectively, like φέρειν; whereas tolerare, perferre, and pati, perpeti, with subjective reference to the state of mind of the person bearing; the tolerans and perferens bear their burden without sinking under it, with strength and self-control, synonymously with sustinens, sustaining, like τολμῶν; the patiens and perpetiens (παθεῖν) without striving to get rid of it, with willingness or resignation, enduring it, synonymously with sinens. Ferre and tolerare have only a noun for their object, but pati also an infinitive. 2. Perferre is of higher import than tolerare, as perpeti is of higher import than pati, to endure heroically and patiently. Poet. ap. Cic. Tusc. iv. 29. Nec est malum, quod non natura humana patiendo ferat: compare with Tac. Ann. i. 74. Sen. Thyest. 307. Leve est miserias ferre; perferre est grave. Plin. H. N. xxvi. 21. Qui perpeti medicinam non toleraverant. Tac. Ann. iii. 3. Magnitudinem mali perferre visu non toleravit. 3. Tolerare (from τλῆναι) means to keep up under a burden, and not sink down; but sustinere means to keep up the burden, and not let it sink. 4. Pati denotes an intellectual permission, no opposition being made, like to let happen; whereas sinere (ἀνεῖναι) denotes a material permission, not to hold any thing fast nor otherwise hinder, to leave free. Pati has, in construction, the action itself for its object, and governs an infinitive; sinere, the person acting, and is in construction with ut. (iv. 259.) 5. Sustinere means to hold up, in a general sense, whereas sustentare, to hold up with trouble and difficulty. Curt. viii. 4, 15. Forte Macedo gregarius miles seque et arma sustentans tandem in castra venit; compare with v. 1, 11. Tandem Laconum acies languescere, lubrica arma sudore vix sustinens. Also, Liv. xxiii. 45. Senec. Prov. 4. a. f. (iii. 293.)

Conjugation conjugation 1

active indicative
form	present	imperfect	future	perfect	pluperfect	fut. perfect
1st sg.	tolerō	tolerābam	tolerābō	tolerāvī	tolerāveram tolerāram	tolerāverō tolerārō
2nd sg.	tolerās	tolerābās	tolerābis	tolerāvistī tolerāstī	tolerāverās tolerārās	tolerāveris tolerāris
3rd sg.	tolerat	tolerābat	tolerābit	tolerāvit tolerāt	tolerāverat tolerārat	tolerāverit tolerārit
1st pl.	tolerāmus	tolerābāmus	tolerābimus	tolerāvimus tolerāmus	tolerāverāmus tolerārāmus	tolerāverimus tolerārimus
2nd pl.	tolerātis	tolerābātis	tolerābitis	tolerāvistis tolerāstis	tolerāverātis tolerārātis	tolerāveritis tolerāritis
3rd pl.	tolerant	tolerābant	tolerābunt	tolerāvērunt tolerārunt, tolerāvēre	tolerāverant tolerārant	tolerāverint tolerārint

active subjunctive

active subjunctive
form	present	imperfect	perfect	pluperfect
1st sg.	tolerem	tolerārem	tolerāverim tolerārim	tolerāvissem tolerāssem
2nd sg.	tolerēs	tolerārēs	tolerāverīs tolerārīs	tolerāvissēs tolerāssēs
3rd sg.	toleret	tolerāret	tolerāverit tolerārit	tolerāvisset tolerāsset
1st pl.	tolerēmus	tolerārēmus	tolerāverīmus tolerārīmus	tolerāvissēmus tolerāssēmus
2nd pl.	tolerētis	tolerārētis	tolerāverītis tolerārītis	tolerāvissētis tolerāssētis
3rd pl.	tolerent	tolerārent	tolerāverint tolerārint	tolerāvissent tolerāssent

passive indicative

passive indicative
form	present	imperfect	future
1st sg.	toleror	tolerābar	tolerābor
2nd sg.	tolerāris tolerāre	tolerābāris tolerābāre	tolerāberis tolerābere
3rd sg.	tolerātur	tolerābātur	tolerābitur
1st pl.	tolerāmur	tolerābāmur	tolerābimur
2nd pl.	tolerāminī	tolerābāminī	tolerābiminī
3rd pl.	tolerantur	tolerābantur	tolerābuntur

passive subjunctive

passive subjunctive
form	present	imperfect
1st sg.	tolerer	tolerārer
2nd sg.	tolerēris tolerēre	tolerārēris tolerārēre
3rd sg.	tolerētur	tolerārētur
1st pl.	tolerēmur	tolerārēmur
2nd pl.	tolerēminī	tolerārēminī
3rd pl.	tolerentur	tolerārentur

imperative

imperative
form	active	passive
pres. 2nd sg.	tolerā	tolerāre
pres. 2nd pl.	tolerāte	tolerāminī
fut. 2nd sg.	tolerātō	tolerātor
fut. 3rd sg.	tolerātō	tolerātor
fut. 2nd pl.	tolerātōte	—
fut. 3rd pl.	tolerantō	tolerantor

infinitives & participles

infinitives & participles
form	active	passive
present infinitive	tolerāre	tolerārī
perfect infinitive	tolerāvisse tolerāsse	tolerātum esse
future infinitive	tolerātūrum esse	tolerātum īrī
present participle	tolerāns tolerante, tolerantem, tolerantēs, tolerantī, tolerantia, tolerantibus, tolerantis, tolerantīs, tolerantium	—
perfect participle	—	tolerātus tolerāta, tolerātā, tolerātae, tolerātam, tolerātārum, tolerātās, tolerātī, tolerātōrum, tolerātōs
future participle	tolerātūrus tolerātūra, tolerātūrā, tolerātūrae, tolerātūram, tolerātūrārum, tolerātūrās, tolerātūre, tolerātūrī, tolerātūrīs, tolerātūrō, tolerātūrōrum, tolerātūrōs, tolerātūrum	tolerandus

gerundtolerandī, tolerandō, tolerandumsupinetolerātum, tolerātū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

hiemem tolerare: to bear the winter.
famem tolerare, sustentare: to endure the pangs of hunger.
vitam inopem sustentare, tolerare: to earn a precarious livelihood.
vitam (inopem) tolerare (B. G. 7. 77): to endure a life of privation.

tŏlĕro, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. (

I. dep. collat. form tŏlĕror, āri, acc. to Prisc. p. 800 P.) [lengthened form of the root tol, whence tollo and tuli, kindr. with the Gr. ΤΛΑΩ], to bear, support, sustain (syn.: fero, patior, sustineo, sino).

I. Lit. (rare and mostly post-class.): aquilae ipsae non tolerantes pondus apprehensum una merguntur, Plin. 10, 3, 3, § 10; cf. id. 35, 14, 49, § 173: aliquem sinu, App. M. 3, p. 132, 29: gremio suo, id. ib. 4, p. 154, 23: mensula cenae totius honestas reliquias tolerans, id. ib. 2, p. 121, 26.—

II. Trop., to bear, endure, tolerate, sustain, support: militiam, Cic. Fam. 7, 18, 1: hiemem, id. Cat. 2, 10, 23; Hirt. B. G. 8, 5, 1: dicunt illi dolorem esse difficile toleratu, Cic. Fin. 4, 19, 52: sumptus et tributa civitatum ab omnibus tolerari aequabiliter, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8, § 25: acritudinem, Att. ap. Fest. p. 356; Ter. Hec. 3, 5, 28: facile labores pericula, dubias atque asperas res, Sall. C. 10, 2: aequo animo servitutem, id. J. 31, 11: cursus, Ov. M. 5, 610: vaporem, id. ib. 2, 301; cf.: vaporis vim, id. ib. 11, 630: tanta peditum equitatumque vis damnaque et injuriae aegre tolerabantur, Tac. H. 2, 56 fin.: sitim aestumque, id. G. 4.— Absol.: paulo longius tolerari posse, Caes. B. G. 7, 71: posse ipsam Liviam statuere, nubendum post Drusum an in penatibus isdem tolerandum haberet, continue, remain, Tac. A. 4, 40.—

(b). With object-clause (poet. and in post - Aug. prose): ferro se caedi quam dictis his toleraret, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 356 Müll. (Ann. v. 137 Vahl.): qui perpeti medicinam toleraverant, Plin. 26, 1, 3, § 3: magnitudinem mali perferre visu non toleravit, Tac. A. 3, 3 fin. —

b. Of inanim. or abstr. subjects: Germania imbres tempestatesque tolerat, Plin. 14, 2, 4, § 21; 35, 14, 49, § 173: tolerat et annos metica (vitis), id. 14, 2, 4, § 35.—

III. Transf., to support a person or thing, i. e. to nourish, maintain, sustain, preserve by food, wealth, etc., = sustentare (v. h. v. II. B. 1.; so not in Cic.): his rationibus equitatum tolerare, Caes. B. C. 3, 58: octona milia equitum suā pecuniā, Plin. 33, 10, 47, § 136: equos, Caes. B. C. 3, 49: corpora equorum, Tac. A. 2, 24; Col. 6, 24, 5: se fructibus agri, Dig. 50, 16, 203: semetipsos (pisces clausi), Col. 8, 17, 15: vitam, Caes. B. G. 7, 77; Tac. A. 15, 45 fin.; Verg. A. 8, 409: aevum, Lucr. 2, 1171: annos, Mart. 7, 64, 5: egestatem, Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 57; so id. ib. 2, 2, 77: paupertatem, id. Rud. 4, 2, 14: famem, Caes. B. G. 1, 28: inopiam, Sall. C. 37, 7.—Absol.: ut toleret (sc. erum amantem servus), ne pessum abeat, Plaut. Aul. 4, 1, 12.—

B. To keep, observe: silentium obnixum, App. M. 4, p. 147, 1.— Hence,

A. tŏlĕrans, antis, P.a., bearing, supporting, enduring, tolerating, tolerant (post-Aug.; mostly with gen.): corpus laborum tolerans, Tac. A. 4, 1 fin.: piscium genera dulcis undae tolerantia, Col. 8, 16, 2. —Comp.: vacca frigoris tolerantior, Col. 6, 22, 2: bello tolerantior, Aur. Vict. Caes. 11. —Sup.: asellus plagarum et penuriae tolerantissimus, Col. 7, 1, 2.—Adv.: tŏlĕran-ter.

1. Patiently, enduringly, tolerantly: ferre aliquid, Cic. Fam. 4, 6, 2: pati dolorem, id. Tusc. 2, 18, 43.—*

2. For tolerabiliter, bearably, tolerably: at nunc anniculae fecunditatem poscuntur, tolerantius tamen bimae, moderately, Plin. 8, 45, 70, § 176.—

B. tŏlĕrātus, a, um, P. a., supportable, tolerable: ut clementiam ac justitiam, quanto ignara barbaris, tanto toleratiora capesseret, acceptable, Tac. A. 12, 11.† † toles (tolles), ĭum, m. Celtic, a wen on the neck, goitre, Veg. Vet. 1, 38; 3, 64; Ser. Samm. 16, 289; Marc. Emp. 15 med.; cf. Fest. p. 356 Müll.

Origins

Uncertain. Perhaps from the root Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“to bear, carry”). * Perhaps the root *telh₂- formed an *-es stem noun *telh₂-s, which was then suffixed with *-eh₂yéti to create a denominative verb *tolh₂-s-eh₂yéti. This verb may have evolved into Proto-Italic *tolazāō, which then evolved into the Latin verb. * Alternatively, it may have evolved from a denominative verb to *tl̥h₂rós, itself composed of the root and the suffix *-rós (if this etymology is accepted, it may be related to Ancient Greek τάλαρος (tálaros)). * Perhaps a sā-present from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂-sah₂-. Compare other sā-presents, such as Latin axō * Perhaps a denominative to an otherwise unattested noun. If so, it may have been formed in a manner akin to Latin generō. However, Nussbaum rejects this analysis, as the oblique stem *teles- (akin to the oblique stem gener- of genus) would not have provided an *-o- to a denominative verb formed form the noun. Nussbaum concedes that the *-o- could have been added due to the influence of the perfect stem *(te)tol- or the adverb tolūtim, although he considers this unlikely. Compare Ancient Greek τλάντος (tlántos, “bearing, suffering”), τολμάω (tolmáō, “to carry, bear”), τελαμών (telamṓn, “broad strap for bearing something”), Ἄτλας (Átlas, “the 'Bearer' of Heaven”), Lithuanian tiltas (“bridge”), Sanskrit तुला (tulā, “balance”), तुलयति (tulayati, “lifts up, weighs”), Latin tollō (“to bear, support”), tulī (“to bore”), lātus (“borne”), tellūs (“bearing earth”), Old English þolian (“to endure”) (English thole), Old Armenian թողում (tʻołum, “to allow”).

Elsewhere

Catalantolerar
Englishtolerate
Frenchtolérer
Italiantollerare
Portuguesetolerar
Romaniantolera
Spanishtolerar
Germantolerieren
Dutchtolereren
Galiciantolerar

Norwegian

Norwegian Bokmåltolerere
Norwegian Nynorsktolerera
Norwegian Nynorsktolerere

In English words that came into English from tolerō

tolerancetolerantia
toleratetolerātus
toleranttolerans
tolerabletolerābilis
intolerantintolerāns
intolerableintolerābilis
tolerationtolerātiōnem