suffer

▪ I. suffer, v.
    (ˈsʌfə(r))
    Forms: 3–4 so-, suffri, 3–5 soffre, 3–6 sofre, 3–7 suffre, 4–5 suffere, -yr, soeffre, 4–6 soffur, -ir, 4–7 sufer, 5–6 sofer, (3 soffry, 4 soffer, -or, soffrie, suffire, sufre, 5 sufferne, sofyr, suffyre, -ur, souer, 6 syffyr), 4– suffer.
    [a. AF. suffrir, soeffrir, -er = OF. sof(f)rir, mod.F. souffrir, corresp. to Pr. suffrir, so-, It. sofferire, Sp. sufrir, Pg. sof(f)rer:—pop. L. *sufferīre, for sufferre, f. suf- = sub- 26 + ferre to bear.]
    I. To undergo, endure.
    1. trans. To have (something painful, distressing, or injurious) inflicted or imposed upon one; to submit to with pain, distress, or grief. a. pain, death, punishment, † judgement; hardship, disaster; grief, † sorrow, care.

a 1225 Ancr. R. 274 Þenc oðe attrie pinen þet God suffrede oðe rode. c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 27 He..þet diath solde suffri for man-ken. a 1300 Cursor M. 4050 Ioseph..þat was þe chast and þat gentil þat siþen sufferd sa fele peril. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 718 Such domez, Þat þe wykked & þe worþy schal on wrake suffer. c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 167 Þe helle Which sufferith faire Anelyda þe Quene. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 195 Of me no maner charge it is What sorwe I soffre. Ibid. III. 7, I..suffre such a Passion, That men have gret compassion. 1482 Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 67 The greuys peyne of that same stenche ys more intollerable..than any other peynys that synners sofryn. 1526 Tindale 2 Cor. xi. 25, I suffered thryse shipwracke. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 74 b, He suffered the lyke punyshment. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxviii. 163 If a subject shall..deny the authority of the Representative of the Common-wealth,.. he may lawfully be made to suffer whatsoever the Representative will. 1676 Charge in Offce of Clerk of Assize 102 The offender shall suffer Imprisonment for a year. 1736 Butler Anal. i. ii. Wks. 1874 I. 35 All which we enjoy, and a great part of what we suffer, is put in our own power. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 166 Every one who does wrong is to suffer punishment by way of admonition. 1903 J. H. Matthews Mass & its Folklore 113 The names of those Romans who had suffered martyrdom prior to the..final settlement of the Canon.

    b. wrong, injury, loss, shame, disgrace.

c 1275 Lay. 24854 Ne solle hii in londe soffri none sconde. a 1300 Cursor M. 10394 Iesu crist..for vs sufferd gret despite. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 381 Strong thing it is to soffre wrong, And suffre schame is more strong. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 1 He sufferd many reprufes and scornes. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 176 For her expenses & harmys þat they sofred by the occasyon of þ⊇ seyde rent not I payde in þ⊇ tyme I-sette. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 129 The most greuos sorous losses..that he hath suffred. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 76 Besyde the disgrace that our nation sufferis throw thair goeing naked in a strange countrie. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 175 Men..whose minds had been exasperated by many injuries and insults suffered at the hands of the Roundheads. 1891 Law Rep., Weekly Notes 79/2 The defendant contended that the plaintiff had suffered no loss. 1912 Times 19 Oct. 7/3 Montenegro..has suffered some eclipse of her first flush of enthusiasm.

    c. bodily injury or discomfort, a blow, wound, disease. arch.

a 1300 Cursor M. 25490 Iesus, þat wald..suffer..Boffetes on þi soft chin. c 1330 King of Tars 57 Crist ur saveour, That soffrede woundes fyve. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 554 We..Þat suffred han þe dayez hete. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula etc. 1 The forsaid sir Adam..suffrand fistulam in ano. c 1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. xxiv, Þoo woundis whech þi son souered in his body. 1539 Great Bible Ps. xxxiv. 10 The lyons do lacke, and suffre hunger. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 28 The woundes which I suffered long agoe. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 90 For feare that hee should suffer thirst. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 26, I suffered much cold that Night, though I had on my Capot. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xliv, Complaints in the bowels and stomach, suffered by himself and his monks.

    2. To go or pass through, be subjected to, undergo, experience (now usually something evil or painful).

a 1300 Cursor M. 15563 Bot sal we elles suffre samen, bath soft and sare. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 113 From hennes to soffre-Boþe-weole-and-wo. 1399 ― Rich. Redeles Prol. 36 Mekely to suffre what so him sente were. c 1420 ? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1638 What may worse be suffryd than ouer mykyll weele? a 1500 St. Margaret 62 in Brome Bk. 109 How they syffyryd wyll and woo And how thye dede ther merty[r]dam take. 1530 Rastell Bk. Purgat. i. v, Ease & pleasure doth comforte the nature of that thyng whych suffereth that ease and pleasure. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. ii. Wks. (1641) 123/1 And, for each body acts, or suffers ought, Having made Nouns, his Verbs he also wrought. a 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. v. xi. (1701) 185/2 Whensoever they seem to effect any thing, we shall find that they suffer it long before. 1662 Tuke Adv. 5 Hours iv. i, W' had better suffer than deserve our fate. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxiii, Here they suffered a siege. 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 28 Three more..suffered the same fate.

    3. a. intr. To undergo or submit to pain, punishment, or death.

a 1300 Cursor M. 20280 He wel i suffer o na care. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 940 Þat is þe cyte þat þe lombe con fonde To soffer inne sor for manez sake. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 65 We shulden maken us redy to suffre in oure body for þe name of Crist. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 156 He feled neuere lisse ne lith, Þerfore hym þouȝte beter legles Þen so to suffre þer-wyþ. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. lxii. 144 Suffre paciently, if þou can not suffre ioingly. 1546 Gardiner Declar. Joye 38 S. Paule sayth, he suffreth for the electes that they myght be salued. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Catech, Jesus Christ..Whiche..Suffered under Ponce Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 118 We suffer'd for no want of any thing. a 1721 Prior Dial. Dead (1907) 258 Every Man is obliged to suffer for what is right, as to oppose what is Unjust. 1772 W. Williams in Bk. Praise (1863) 244 In Thy Presence we can conquer, We can suffer, we can die. 1841 Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ix, Gracious Heavens!..a lady of your rank to suffer in this way! 1848 ― Van. Fair xxviii, He suffered hugely on the voyage, during which the ladies were likewise prostrate. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vii. 227 It was a hard thing to suffer for an opinion; but there are times when opinions are as dangerous as acts. 1889 Sat. Rev. 9 Feb. 145/2 A brave man suffers in silence. 1905 C. G. Hartley Weaver's Shuttle 268 The child who moves restlessly when suffering.

    b. from or (now rare) under a disease or ailment.

1800 Med. Jrnl. III. 422 She had suffered much from disease. 1836 Dickens Let. 15 Nov. (1965) I. 195, I..am still suffering under..a head-ache. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lv, It was only one of Mrs. Wenham's headaches which prevented us—she suffers under them a good deal. 1884 M. Mackenzie Dis. Throat & Nose II. 176 He had suffered from delirium tremens. 1898 F. Montgomery Tony 10 She was suffering from what she was pleased to call a fit of depression.

    4. To be the object of an action, be acted upon, be passive. Now rare.

c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. v. met. iv. (1868) 167 Yif þe þriuyng soule..ne doþ no þing by hys propre moeuynges, but suffriþ. 1548 Vicary Anat. ix. 79 So that eche of them [sc. man's and woman's seed in generation] worketh in other, and suffereth in other. 1587 Golding De Mornay x. (1592) 145 The Elements haue power and force to do, whereas matter hath abilitie but onely to suffer or to be wrought vpon. 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. v. vi. (1701) 161/2 These principles are called Elements, of which Air and Fire have a faculty to move and effect; the other parts, Water and Earth to suffer. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 158 Fall'n Cherube, to be weak is miserable Doing or Suffering. 1818 Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 5/1 In language, a verb is a word which signifies to do, or to suffer, as well as to be.

    † 5. trans. To submit patiently to. Obs.

1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7281 Some..sofrede as hii noȝt ne miȝte al þe oþeres wille. 1382 Wyclif 1 Pet. ii. 19 If..ony man suffrith [Vulgate sustinet] sorewes, or heuynesses, suffringe [patiens] vniustly. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 71 Wher as sche soffreth al his wille, As sche which wende noght misdo. c 1400 Cursor M. 29103 (Cott. Galba) To luke if þai in gude life lend, And suffers what he will þam send.

    † 6. intr. To endure, hold out, wait patiently. (Often with abide, bide.) to suffer long: to be long-suffering. Obs.

1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 18 Sette my Sadel vppon Soffre-til-I-seo-my-tyme. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xvi. (Magdalena) 19 Þou bidis & sufferis, til þat we thru repentance wil turne to þe. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 808 Firumbras was hard, & suffrede wel, þoȝ hit him greuede sare. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 731 Of alle þe vertues þat þer beone, To suffre, hit is a þing of prys. c 1450 Merlin 165 Marganors..badde hem suffre and a-bide, while thei myght, for to socour theire peple. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxxii. 209 He was sore displeased therwith, and suffred tyll he herde howe they were put to their raunsome. 1526 Tindale 1 Cor. xiii. 4 Love suffreth longe, and is corteous. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. ii. 4 Suffre in heuynesse, and be pacient in thy trouble. 1563 B. Googe Eglogs viii. (Arb.) 65 God..suffers long, reuengyng slow.

    † 7. trans. To resist the weight, stress, or painfulness of; to endure, bear, stand. Obs. exc. dial.

1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 217 Whan þei myȝte nouȝt in þe holy day suffre on hire piliouns and here cappes for hete. 1388 Wyclif Exod. xviii. 18 The werk is aboue thi strengthis, thou aloone maist not suffre it. 1481 Caxton Godfrey viii. 29 That they shold charge them with suche tributes that they myght not suffre. 1551 T. Wilson Logic (1580) 51 Children can suffer muche colde. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §102 b, Any such corrasiue..medicine..as the said H. shal think his nature is vnable to suffer or abide. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 146 Some [Persians]..can suffer short wide stockings of English cloth or Kersies. 1640 T. Brugis Marrow of Physicke ii. 140 Let the pan be no hotter than you can suffer your hand on it. 1673 Ray Journ. Low C. 70 These Waters [sc. Baths of Aken]..are very easie to suffer. 1684 Contempl. State of Man ii. vii. (1699) 202 If one cannot tell how to suffer the Tooth-ach, Head-ach, or the Pain of the Chollick.

absol. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. ii. i. (1668) 15 Drink thereof morning and evening as hot as you can suffer.

    8. To be affected by, subjected to, undergo (an operation or process, esp. of change). Now only as transf. of 1.

a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 31 If it be nede for to chaufe it more for þe terebentyne, loke þat it suffre noȝt mych hete. Ibid. 80 Þe membrez..may noȝt withstande to þe strength of þe vitriol; and so þai suffre liquefaccion of it. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 400 Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a Sea-change Into something rich, & strange. 1659 Pearson Creed (1839) 361 He suffered a true and proper dissolution at his death. 1678 G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. vi. §19. 51 Their goods should be put under sicker Burrows,..under which they must remain ay and while they suffer an Assize. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 80 Bodies void of aqueous humidity can neither suffer fermentation nor putrefaction. 1787 Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 89 The conveyance of the treaty itself is suffering a delay here at present. 1793 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 158 The very language of France has suffered considerable alterations since you were conversant in French books. 1816 Singer Hist. Cards 33 Bullet allows this explanation to be very plausible, but says it suffers some very material difficulties. 1831 Brewster Optics i. 12 Let rays AM, AD, AN,..fall upon the mirror at the points M, D, and N, and suffer reflexion at these points. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xvii. 319 Along these lines the marginal ice suffers the greatest strain. 1877 Huxley Physiogr. xix. 318 The figure of the ship suffers a change.

    9. a. intr. To undergo the extreme penalty; to be put to death, be executed. Now rare in literary use exc. of martyrdom.

1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) III. 1972/2 marg., The chief dispatcher of al Gods Sainctes that suffered in Q. Maries time. 1581 Allen Apologie 87 b, England can not lacke Albans, whose Protomartyr being of that name..suffered..to saue his Christian guest. [1638 Nabbes Covent Garden iv. iii. in Bullen O.P. N.S. I. 73 The Gentlewomen will not see us hang'd. But they may suffer us, and that's a word for hanging.] 1652 Lamont Diary (Maitland Club) 46 He was..sent to Stirling..wher he was appointed to suffer, and was executed there. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 13 June 1649 Sir John Owen, newly freed from sentence of death among the Lords that suffer'd. 1752 Miss Blandy's Own Acc. 63 Miss Blandy suffered in a black Bombazine short Sack and Petticoat, with a clean white Handerchief drawn over her Face. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xix, She is a witch, that should have been burned with them that suffered at Haddington. 1828 P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 279, ‘I have received a letter since, acquainting me that he has suffered.’ ‘Suffered!..dear me, what has he suffered?’ ‘He has been hanged, sir.’ 1861 Brougham Brit. Const. xv. 238 Several of his adversaries were condemned to death, and suffered accordingly. 1877 J. Morris Troubles Cath. Forefathers Ser. iii. 38 note, Edward Transham or Stransham,..suffered at Tyburn.

    † b. To be killed or destroyed. Obs.

1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. ii. 16 But let the frame of things dis-ioynt, Both the Worlds suffer. 1610 ― Temp. ii. ii. 39 This is no fish, but an Islander, that hath lately suffered by a Thunderbolt.

    10. To sustain injury, damage, or loss; to be injured or impaired. Const. from, under.

c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. cxxiv, It suffers not in smilinge pomp, nor falls Vnder the blow of thralled discontent. 1601 ― Twel. N. ii. v. 144 Mal. M. But then there is no consonancy in the sequell that suffers vnder probation: A. should follow, but O. does. 1697 H. Wanley in Bodl. Q. Rec. (1915) Jan. 107 In the Library, many such [sc. books of Prints] haue suffered extreamly. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 156 The teeth suffer in mastication or chewing the aliments. 1796 C. Smith Marchmont IV. 222 Suffering from the fatal law entanglements of his father. 1815 Scott Guy M. xl, How must he in the meantime be suffering in her opinion? 1841 Thackeray Shrove Tuesday in Paris Wks. 1900 XIII. 569 Debt is a staple joke to our young men, ‘Who suffers for your coat?’ is, or used to be, a cant phrase. 1870 F. R. Wilson Ch. Lindisf. 68 The edifice suffered in the civil wars under Cromwell. 1894 P. Fitzgerald in Daily News 26 Sept. 6/4 It [sc. the Cathedral] has not suffered—the correct phrase—from the restorers. 1915 Times 26 April 10/3 Other Army Corps suffered even more severely.

    11. causative. To inflict pain upon. Obs. exc. dial.

c 1500 Lancelot 1368 Yow sufferith them, oppressith & anoyith. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. i. 153 A hot ore-weening Curre,..Who being suffer'd with the Beares fell paw, Hath clapt his taile, betweene his legges. 1893 Wiltshire Gloss., Suffer, to punish, to make suffer. ‘I'll suffer you, you young rascal!’

    II. To tolerate, allow.
    12. trans. To endure the existence, presence, or activity of (a person); to bear with, put up with, tolerate. Now rare and arch.

a 1300 Cursor M. 14749 Ferli thinc vs Quarfor þat we þe suffer þus, Quatkin thing can þou sai to Do, quar-for we suld þe bu? 1340 Ayenb. 38 Þe kueade domesmen þet hise soffreþ. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 178 A man schulde suffur anoþur, and muche more a prelate schulde wisely suffur hys sugettis. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 494 Hou þat he suffreþ þe and me Wiþ miht al þat he may. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. xi. 229 Euer curtoisly ye haue suffred me. 1487 Cely Papers (Camden) 166 The Comyns wyll nott suffur hym. 1535 Coverdale Judg. ii. 23 Thus the Lorde suffred all these nacions. c 1585 [R. Browne] Answ. Cartwright 73 They are to bee suffered as brethren in the churche. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 438 ¶4 How pityful is the Condition of being only suffered? 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxxviii, He suffered his grandmother with a good-humoured indifference. 1872 Howells Wedd. Journ. 99 They are suffering and perpetuating him.

    13. a. To allow (a thing) to be done, exist, or take place; to allow to go on without interference or objection, put up with, tolerate. arch. or dial.

c 1290 Beket 1601 in S. Eng. Leg. 152 I-nelle none costomes soffri..Þat aȝein sothnesse beoth. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3337 Men, for youre manchipe na more þat suffreþ. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. ii. 174 Erchdekenes and officiales..Lat sadel hem with siluer owre synne to suffre. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1846 Lucrece, That nolde she suffre by no wey. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5081 It falles to a fole his foly to shew, And a wise man witterly his wordes to suffer. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 67 Suffre at thy table no distractioun. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §20 The sede [sc. of Cockole] is rounde and blacke, and maye well be suffred in a breade-corne. 1584 Lodge Alarm agst. Usurers 15 Our lawes..although they suffer a commoditie, yet confirme not they taking. 1592 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, vi. viii. 8 A little fire is quickly trodden out, Which being suffer'd, Riuers cannot quench. 1604 E. G[rimstone] tr. D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. iv. 128 The Easterly winds raine continually, not suffering their contraries. 1660 Jer. Taylor Worthy Commun. ii. §2. 124 We suffer religion, and endure the laws of God but we love them not. 1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. I. vi. 19, I have..here..had the permission of touching the relics, which was never suffered in places where I was not known. 1806 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 229 France will no longer suffer the existing government. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman vi. xiii. 405 They wouldn't have me tell thee before because of thy body's weakness, but now they suffer it.

    † b. To allow to remain; to leave. Obs. rare.

c 1450 Merlin 104 Syr, we pray yow that the swerde be suffred yet in the ston to Passh. 1584 Cogan Haven Health (1636) 101 A rosted apple, suffered untill it were cold, and then eaten last at night..hath loosed the belly.

    † c. To admit of. Obs. rare.

a 1300 Cursor M. 13037 Sco wist þat rightwis was his sau, Moght noght suffer na gain-sau. 1793 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 199 It is not permitted to Sir Gilbert Elliot to be an ordinary man; neither his nature nor the times will suffer it.

    14. Const. acc. and inf. († pple., compl. phr.) or clause: To allow or permit a person, animal, or inanimate thing to be or to do so-and-so. a. a person or animal.

with acc. and inf. c 1290 Beket 1283 in S. Eng. Leg. 143 Þat o Man ne beoi-soffred to gon forth mid is wille. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 87 He..wol nat suffren hem..Neither to been yburyed nor ybrent. 1453 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 279 The suynerd of the towne shulde not suffre the swyne to cum into the strone. a 1466 Gregory Chron. in Hist. Coll. Cit. Lond. (Camden) 146 They of the sayde markett shalle nought ressayvyn nor sufferne to entre, any preson..in to the sayde markett. 1486 Bk. St. Albans f v b, Who that..suffrith hys wyfe to seche mony halowys. 1540–1 Elyot Image Gov. (1549) 50 In offices he seldome suffred to be any deputies. 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iii. 99 [They] woulde not suffer the persons aforesayde come in. 1658 Earl of Monmouth tr. Paruta's Wars Cyprus 121 He conjured them, not to suffer the victorious army incur any shame. c 1665 Mrs. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1846) 28 Greatness of courage would not suffer him to put on a vizor. 1760–2 Goldsm. Cit. W. cxix, I was not suffered to stir far from the house, for fear I should run away. 1813 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) I. vii. 245 Maria fell into a sort of hysteric of fright..and anger because she was not suffered to wear a diamond necklace. 1833 H. Martineau Vanderput & S. vi. 91 He has suffered the storks to build on the summer house. 1898 Besant Orange Girl ii. ix, Her sins lie upon the head of those who suffer her..to grow up without religion.

with acc. and pple. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 494 What mon wolde now suffre so His sone I-slayen. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 5 Neyther would Duke Frederick..unlesse he judged him to be an honest man, suffer him so long unpunyshed. 1562 Winȝet Cert. Tractates Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 110 To suffir an harlot in his wyfes tyme lyand with an wthir harlot? 1606 Chapman M. D'Olive ii, What meanes your Grace to suffer me abus'd thus?

with acc. and compl. phr. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 262 It were but necessarie you were wak't, Least being suffer'd in that harmefull slumber, The mortall Worme might make the sleepe eternall. 1624 Capt. J. Smith Virginia v. 179 Master More..by no meanes would admit of any diuision, nor suffer his men from finishing their fortifications. 1705 tr. Bosman's Guinea 336 He is obliged to suffer the King of Popo in quiet Possession of his Island.

with clause. 13.. R. Glouc. 1794 (MS. B), Þe kyng hym wolde ȝeue lyf, ac ys men nolde noȝt, Ne suffre, þat þer were o liue eny of here fon. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 1056 Suffre ȝe nolle þat we by-wepe in þis word ȝour wikkede dedus. c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. Prol. 7, I yow biseke, that of youre curteisye,..As suffereth me I may my tale telle. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxiii. 252 And therfore thei suffren, that folk of alle Lawes may peysibely duellen amonges hem. 1457 Harding Chron. Proem xiv. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1912) Oct. 743 But so was sette your noble chaunceller, He wolde nought suffre I had such waryson. 1611 Bible Judges xvi. 26 Suffer mee, that I may feele the pillars whereupon the house standeth. 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. II. xiv. 320 He ought not to suffer that one of his Fathers Assassins should enjoy the Fruit of his crime.

    b. an inanimate or immaterial thing.

with acc. and inf. a 1300 Cursor M. 19809 To suffer þar na wrang be don. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 His precious blude, þe whilk he sufferd be schedd for vs. 1481 Cov. Leet Bk. 475 Nor..suffryng eny thyng to be commytted..wherby the seid trewes..myght fall in vyolacion. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 57 b, To suffer the sayde mencioned mariage, to take effect. 1622 S. Ward Christ All in All (1627) 31 He would neuer suffer any part of the repute or honour of any his acts or labours, rest vpon his owne head. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 2 Nov. 1644 A sea of thick cloudes..every now and then suffering the top of some other mountaine to peepe through. 1774 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 502 If..we should suffer any thing to be lost..by our remissness. 1827 Scott Highl. Widow v, She suffered his complaints..to die away without returning any answer. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 120 The answer was so unpleasing to James that he did not suffer it to be printed in the Gazette. 1871 B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §115 The acid will retain the water and will not suffer it to evaporate.

with acc. and pple. a 1325 MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 31 b, Hoe..wollez bluþeloker suffren felonies idone to straunge passen biþoute peine þane aditi þe felons. 1563 Homilies ii. Agst. Peril Idol. 1, Joas, and other Princes whiche eyther sette vp, or suffred suche aultars of Images vndestroyed. 1589 Cooper Admon. 217 They..striue against God.., who wil not suffer it unpunished. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. iii. xiii. 3, I, heauen will be reuenged of euery ill; Nor will they suffer murder vnrepaide. 1615 Chapman Odyss. xiv. 133 These men..will never suffer left Their vniust wooing of his wife.

with acc. and compl. phr. c 1375 Cursor M. 22620 (Fairf.) Quy þi wrecched hande-werk in wa in þis fire þou suffris squa. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 344 Þis lif is ful of sorowe..þat suffriþ not blis wiþ it. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 361 The faucon which..soeffreth nothing in the weie, Wherof that he mai take his preie. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 21 b, He that wol not suffre the stenche of my careyn aboue the erthe. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. lxxx. 242 Nowe we wyll suffre in rest a season the armye of Castell.

    15. To allow oneself, submit to be treated in a certain way; to endure, consent to be or to do something. a. refl. arch.

a 1300 Cursor M. 17239, I sufferd me for þe be slain. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun (Roxb.) 72 Sampson soeffred hym self be bonden. 1526 Tindale 1 Cor. vi. 7 Why rather suffre ye not youre selves to be robbed? 1671 Woodhead St. Teresa ii. xi. 92 Love beginning to afford them sensible consolations, they too much suffer themselves to be carried away therewith. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 197 This is a Place that a Man is oblig'd sometimes to suffer himself to be used ill. 1837 Lockhart Scott iv. (1871) 174 Brown Adam [sc. Scott's horse] never suffered himself to be backed but by his master. 1877 in Bryce Amer. Commw. (1888) li. II. 285 Considerable proportions of them in their devotion to politics suffer themselves to be driven from the walks of regular industry.

    † b. intr. Obs.

c 1315 Shoreham i. 780 He soffreþ noȝt to be to-trede, And of bestes deuoured. a 1325 MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 32 b, Ȝif a nellez noȝt suffri to ben resteid. 1474 Caxton Chesse i. i. (1883) 9 He might not suffre to be repreuid and taught of hym. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxii. 94 Thus Jesus with his woundis wyde, As martir suffirit for to de. 1538 Starkey England (1878) 178 Our cuntrey, wych wyl not suffur to be so ornat and so beutyful, in euery degre, as other cuntreys be. 1632 Sir T. Hawkins tr. Mathieu's Unhappy Prosp. 80 He..endured contradiction, and sometime suffered to be cut off in his opinions. a 1665 Sir K. Digby Priv. Mem. (1827) 278 As long as I can march at ease by myself, I will never suffer to be carried away from myself by the throng. 1764 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. in Lett. (1771) II. 308, I must not suffer to have the laws broken before my face.

    16. trans. (by ellipsis of inf.) To permit or allow (a person) to do a certain thing; † to let alone. Also occas. absol. arch.

1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 187 So hadde Alfrede my broþer helped me, if Godwyn had i-suffred [1432–50 hade suffrede hym]. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 1 As fer as myn fraylnes wold suffre me. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §39 Let them [sc. lambs] sucke as longe as the dammes wyll suffre theym. 1530 Palsgr. 742/2 Let us suffer hym and se what he wolde do. 1590 Greene Orl. Fur. Wks. (Grosart) XIII. 135, I wish thee well, Orlando; get thee gone, Say that a centynell did suffer thee. 1604 Dekker King's Entert. 277 Even children (might they have been suffred) would gladly have spent their little strength. 1663 Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 483 Then all went in, soe many that were suffered. 1700 T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. 97 One of them would have been poking a Cranes Bill down his Throat,..but the Doctors would not suffer him. 1818 Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXIII. 492 Let us hear him now, if indignation will suffer us. 1878 J. P. Hopps Jesus x. 37 How would I have blest you if you would have suffered me!

    † 17. With two objects (or the equivalent): To allow a person to have a certain thing. Obs.

c 1290 Beket 1615 in S. Eng. Leg. 152 Bote þov suffri him is riȝte lawes Ichulle bi-come þi fo. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1575 Hypsipyle, Alle tho that sufferede hym his wille. 1481 Caxton Godfrey lxx. 115 The turke..wold not suffre them of nothyng, sauf to occupye and laboure therthe.

    † 18. intr. a. Of a person (transf. of a thing): To allow a certain thing to be done. Obs.

1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4198, & þe wule he wolde þis tendre þing wemmy foule ynou, & heo ne miȝte sofry noȝt, Mid lecherye he hire slou. 1382 Wyclif Luke xxii. 51 Suffre ȝe til hidur [Tindale, Soffre ye thus farre forthe]. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8094 A gloue of þat gay gate he belyue,..None seond but hir-selfe, þat suffert full well. 1605 B. Jonson Sejanus iv, Still, do'st thou suffer Heau'n? will no flame, No heate of sinne make thy iust wrath to boile? 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage iv. xviii. (1614) 437 The name..remayning as diuers languages and dialects will suffer, almost the same.

    † b. Of a condition of things: To allow or admit of a certain thing being done. Obs.

1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Priv. Baptism, And saye the Lordes prayer, yf the tyme will suffre. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 47 If weather will suffer, this counsell I giue, Leaue sowing of wheat before Hallomas eue. 1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. xxii. (1627) 256 If his leisure will suffer.

▪ II. suffer
    variant of sover a. and v. Sc.

Oxford English Dictionary