| 释义 |
▪ 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.
a1225Ancr. R. 274 Þenc oðe attrie pinen þet God suffrede oðe rode. c1250Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 27 He..þet diath solde suffri for man-ken. a1300Cursor 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. c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 167 Þe helle Which sufferith faire Anelyda þe Quene. 1390Gower 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. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 67 The greuys peyne of that same stenche ys more intollerable..than any other peynys that synners sofryn. 1526Tindale 2 Cor. xi. 25, I suffered thryse shipwracke. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 74 b, He suffered the lyke punyshment. 1651Hobbes 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. 1676Charge in Offce of Clerk of Assize 102 The offender shall suffer Imprisonment for a year. 1736Butler 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. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 166 Every one who does wrong is to suffer punishment by way of admonition. 1903J. 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.
c1275Lay. 24854 Ne solle hii in londe soffri none sconde. a1300Cursor M. 10394 Iesu crist..for vs sufferd gret despite. 1390Gower Conf. II. 381 Strong thing it is to soffre wrong, And suffre schame is more strong. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 1 He sufferd many reprufes and scornes. c1450Godstow Reg. 176 For her expenses & harmys þat they sofred by the occasyon of þ⊇ seyde rent not I payde in þ⊇ tyme I-sette. 1502Arnolde Chron. (1811) 129 The most greuos sorous losses..that he hath suffred. 1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 76 Besyde the disgrace that our nation sufferis throw thair goeing naked in a strange countrie. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 175 Men..whose minds had been exasperated by many injuries and insults suffered at the hands of the Roundheads. 1891Law Rep., Weekly Notes 79/2 The defendant contended that the plaintiff had suffered no loss. 1912Times 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.
a1300Cursor M. 25490 Iesus, þat wald..suffer..Boffetes on þi soft chin. c1330King of Tars 57 Crist ur saveour, That soffrede woundes fyve. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 554 We..Þat suffred han þe dayez hete. a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula etc. 1 The forsaid sir Adam..suffrand fistulam in ano. c1450J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. xxiv, Þoo woundis whech þi son souered in his body. 1539Great Bible Ps. xxxiv. 10 The lyons do lacke, and suffre hunger. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 28 The woundes which I suffered long agoe. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 90 For feare that hee should suffer thirst. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 26, I suffered much cold that Night, though I had on my Capot. 1819Scott 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).
a1300Cursor M. 15563 Bot sal we elles suffre samen, bath soft and sare. 1362Langl. 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. c1420? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1638 What may worse be suffryd than ouer mykyll weele? a1500St. Margaret 62 in Brome Bk. 109 How they syffyryd wyll and woo And how thye dede ther merty[r]dam take. 1530Rastell Bk. Purgat. i. v, Ease & pleasure doth comforte the nature of that thyng whych suffereth that ease and pleasure. 1598Sylvester 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. a1656Stanley Hist. Philos. v. xi. (1701) 185/2 Whensoever they seem to effect any thing, we shall find that they suffer it long before. 1662Tuke Adv. 5 Hours iv. i, W' had better suffer than deserve our fate. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxiii, Here they suffered a siege. 1839Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 28 Three more..suffered the same fate.
3. a. intr. To undergo or submit to pain, punishment, or death.
a1300Cursor 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. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 65 We shulden maken us redy to suffre in oure body for þe name of Crist. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 156 He feled neuere lisse ne lith, Þerfore hym þouȝte beter legles Þen so to suffre þer-wyþ. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. lxii. 144 Suffre paciently, if þou can not suffre ioingly. 1546Gardiner 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. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 118 We suffer'd for no want of any thing. a1721Prior Dial. Dead (1907) 258 Every Man is obliged to suffer for what is right, as to oppose what is Unjust. 1772W. Williams in Bk. Praise (1863) 244 In Thy Presence we can conquer, We can suffer, we can die. 1841Thackeray 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. 1856Froude 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. 1889Sat. Rev. 9 Feb. 145/2 A brave man suffers in silence. 1905C. G. Hartley Weaver's Shuttle 268 The child who moves restlessly when suffering.
b. from or (now rare) under a disease or ailment.
1800Med. Jrnl. III. 422 She had suffered much from disease. 1836Dickens Let. 15 Nov. (1965) I. 195, I..am still suffering under..a head-ache. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lv, It was only one of Mrs. Wenham's headaches which prevented us—she suffers under them a good deal. 1884M. Mackenzie Dis. Throat & Nose II. 176 He had suffered from delirium tremens. 1898F. 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.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. v. met. iv. (1868) 167 Yif þe þriuyng soule..ne doþ no þing by hys propre moeuynges, but suffriþ. 1548Vicary Anat. ix. 79 So that eche of them [sc. man's and woman's seed in generation] worketh in other, and suffereth in other. 1587Golding 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. 1656Stanley 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. 1667Milton P.L. i. 158 Fall'n Cherube, to be weak is miserable Doing or Suffering. 1818Stoddart 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.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7281 Some..sofrede as hii noȝt ne miȝte al þe oþeres wille. 1382Wyclif 1 Pet. ii. 19 If..ony man suffrith [Vulgate sustinet] sorewes, or heuynesses, suffringe [patiens] vniustly. 1390Gower Conf. III. 71 Wher as sche soffreth al his wille, As sche which wende noght misdo. c1400Cursor 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.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 18 Sette my Sadel vppon Soffre-til-I-seo-my-tyme. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xvi. (Magdalena) 19 Þou bidis & sufferis, til þat we thru repentance wil turne to þe. c1380Sir Ferumb. 808 Firumbras was hard, & suffrede wel, þoȝ hit him greuede sare. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 731 Of alle þe vertues þat þer beone, To suffre, hit is a þing of prys. c1450Merlin 165 Marganors..badde hem suffre and a-bide, while thei myght, for to socour theire peple. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxxii. 209 He was sore displeased therwith, and suffred tyll he herde howe they were put to their raunsome. 1526Tindale 1 Cor. xiii. 4 Love suffreth longe, and is corteous. 1535Coverdale Ecclus. ii. 4 Suffre in heuynesse, and be pacient in thy trouble. 1563B. 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.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 217 Whan þei myȝte nouȝt in þe holy day suffre on hire piliouns and here cappes for hete. 1388Wyclif Exod. xviii. 18 The werk is aboue thi strengthis, thou aloone maist not suffre it. 1481Caxton Godfrey viii. 29 That they shold charge them with suche tributes that they myght not suffre. 1551T. Wilson Logic (1580) 51 Children can suffer muche colde. 1592West 1st Pt. Symbol. §102 b, Any such corrasiue..medicine..as the said H. shal think his nature is vnable to suffer or abide. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 146 Some [Persians]..can suffer short wide stockings of English cloth or Kersies. 1640T. Brugis Marrow of Physicke ii. 140 Let the pan be no hotter than you can suffer your hand on it. 1673Ray Journ. Low C. 70 These Waters [sc. Baths of Aken]..are very easie to suffer. 1684Contempl. 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.1615Markham 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.
a1425tr. 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. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 400 Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a Sea-change Into something rich, & strange. 1659Pearson Creed (1839) 361 He suffered a true and proper dissolution at his death. 1678G. 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. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 80 Bodies void of aqueous humidity can neither suffer fermentation nor putrefaction. 1787Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 89 The conveyance of the treaty itself is suffering a delay here at present. 1793Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 158 The very language of France has suffered considerable alterations since you were conversant in French books. 1816Singer Hist. Cards 33 Bullet allows this explanation to be very plausible, but says it suffers some very material difficulties. 1831Brewster 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. 1860Tyndall Glac. ii. xvii. 319 Along these lines the marginal ice suffers the greatest strain. 1877Huxley 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.
1570Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) III. 1972/2 marg., The chief dispatcher of al Gods Sainctes that suffered in Q. Maries time. 1581Allen Apologie 87 b, England can not lacke Albans, whose Protomartyr being of that name..suffered..to saue his Christian guest. [1638Nabbes 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.] 1652Lamont Diary (Maitland Club) 46 He was..sent to Stirling..wher he was appointed to suffer, and was executed there. a1700Evelyn Diary 13 June 1649 Sir John Owen, newly freed from sentence of death among the Lords that suffer'd. 1752Miss 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. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xix, She is a witch, that should have been burned with them that suffered at Haddington. 1828P. 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.’ 1861Brougham Brit. Const. xv. 238 Several of his adversaries were condemned to death, and suffered accordingly. 1877J. Morris Troubles Cath. Forefathers Ser. iii. 38 note, Edward Transham or Stransham,..suffered at Tyburn.
†b. To be killed or destroyed. Obs.
1605Shakes. 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.
c1600Shakes. 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. 1697H. Wanley in Bodl. Q. Rec. (1915) Jan. 107 In the Library, many such [sc. books of Prints] haue suffered extreamly. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 156 The teeth suffer in mastication or chewing the aliments. 1796C. Smith Marchmont IV. 222 Suffering from the fatal law entanglements of his father. 1815Scott Guy M. xl, How must he in the meantime be suffering in her opinion? 1841Thackeray 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. 1870F. R. Wilson Ch. Lindisf. 68 The edifice suffered in the civil wars under Cromwell. 1894P. Fitzgerald in Daily News 26 Sept. 6/4 It [sc. the Cathedral] has not suffered—the correct phrase—from the restorers. 1915Times 26 April 10/3 Other Army Corps suffered even more severely.
11. causative. To inflict pain upon. Obs. exc. dial.
c1500Lancelot 1368 Yow sufferith them, oppressith & anoyith. 1593Shakes. 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. 1893Wiltshire 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.
a1300Cursor M. 14749 Ferli thinc vs Quarfor þat we þe suffer þus, Quatkin thing can þou sai to Do, quar-for we suld þe bu? 1340Ayenb. 38 Þe kueade domesmen þet hise soffreþ. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 178 A man schulde suffur anoþur, and muche more a prelate schulde wisely suffur hys sugettis. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 494 Hou þat he suffreþ þe and me Wiþ miht al þat he may. 1470–85Malory Arthur vii. xi. 229 Euer curtoisly ye haue suffred me. 1487Cely Papers (Camden) 166 The Comyns wyll nott suffur hym. 1535Coverdale Judg. ii. 23 Thus the Lorde suffred all these nacions. c1585[R. Browne] Answ. Cartwright 73 They are to bee suffered as brethren in the churche. 1712Steele Spect. No. 438 ⁋4 How pityful is the Condition of being only suffered? 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxviii, He suffered his grandmother with a good-humoured indifference. 1872Howells 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.
c1290Beket 1601 in S. Eng. Leg. 152 I-nelle none costomes soffri..Þat aȝein sothnesse beoth. c1350Will. Palerne 3337 Men, for youre manchipe na more þat suffreþ. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. ii. 174 Erchdekenes and officiales..Lat sadel hem with siluer owre synne to suffre. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1846 Lucrece, That nolde she suffre by no wey. c1400Destr. Troy 5081 It falles to a fole his foly to shew, And a wise man witterly his wordes to suffer. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 67 Suffre at thy table no distractioun. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §20 The sede [sc. of Cockole] is rounde and blacke, and maye well be suffred in a breade-corne. 1584Lodge Alarm agst. Usurers 15 Our lawes..although they suffer a commoditie, yet confirme not they taking. 1592Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, vi. viii. 8 A little fire is quickly trodden out, Which being suffer'd, Riuers cannot quench. 1604E. G[rimstone] tr. D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. iv. 128 The Easterly winds raine continually, not suffering their contraries. 1660Jer. Taylor Worthy Commun. ii. §2. 124 We suffer religion, and endure the laws of God but we love them not. 1716Lady 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. 1806Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 229 France will no longer suffer the existing government. 1894Hall 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.
c1450Merlin 104 Syr, we pray yow that the swerde be suffred yet in the ston to Passh. 1584Cogan 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.
a1300Cursor M. 13037 Sco wist þat rightwis was his sau, Moght noght suffer na gain-sau. 1793Burke 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.c1290Beket 1283 in S. Eng. Leg. 143 Þat o Man ne beoi-soffred to gon forth mid is wille. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 87 He..wol nat suffren hem..Neither to been yburyed nor ybrent. 1453Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 279 The suynerd of the towne shulde not suffre the swyne to cum into the strone. a1466Gregory 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. 1486Bk. St. Albans f v b, Who that..suffrith hys wyfe to seche mony halowys. 1540–1Elyot Image Gov. (1549) 50 In offices he seldome suffred to be any deputies. 1583T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iii. 99 [They] woulde not suffer the persons aforesayde come in. 1658Earl of Monmouth tr. Paruta's Wars Cyprus 121 He conjured them, not to suffer the victorious army incur any shame. c1665Mrs. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1846) 28 Greatness of courage would not suffer him to put on a vizor. 1760–2Goldsm. Cit. W. cxix, I was not suffered to stir far from the house, for fear I should run away. 1813Miss 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. 1833H. Martineau Vanderput & S. vi. 91 He has suffered the storks to build on the summer house. 1898Besant Orange Girl ii. ix, Her sins lie upon the head of those who suffer her..to grow up without religion.
with acc. and pple.a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 494 What mon wolde now suffre so His sone I-slayen. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 5 Neyther would Duke Frederick..unlesse he judged him to be an honest man, suffer him so long unpunyshed. 1562Winȝet Cert. Tractates Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 110 To suffir an harlot in his wyfes tyme lyand with an wthir harlot? 1606Chapman M. D'Olive ii, What meanes your Grace to suffer me abus'd thus?
with acc. and compl. phr.1593Shakes. 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. 1624Capt. J. Smith Virginia v. 179 Master More..by no meanes would admit of any diuision, nor suffer his men from finishing their fortifications. 1705tr. 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. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 1056 Suffre ȝe nolle þat we by-wepe in þis word ȝour wikkede dedus. c1386Chaucer Sompn. Prol. 7, I yow biseke, that of youre curteisye,..As suffereth me I may my tale telle. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxiii. 252 And therfore thei suffren, that folk of alle Lawes may peysibely duellen amonges hem. 1457Harding 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. 1611Bible Judges xvi. 26 Suffer mee, that I may feele the pillars whereupon the house standeth. 1720Ozell 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.a1300Cursor M. 19809 To suffer þar na wrang be don. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 His precious blude, þe whilk he sufferd be schedd for vs. 1481Cov. Leet Bk. 475 Nor..suffryng eny thyng to be commytted..wherby the seid trewes..myght fall in vyolacion. a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 57 b, To suffer the sayde mencioned mariage, to take effect. 1622S. 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. a1700Evelyn Diary 2 Nov. 1644 A sea of thick cloudes..every now and then suffering the top of some other mountaine to peepe through. 1774Burke Corr. (1844) I. 502 If..we should suffer any thing to be lost..by our remissness. 1827Scott Highl. Widow v, She suffered his complaints..to die away without returning any answer. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 120 The answer was so unpleasing to James that he did not suffer it to be printed in the Gazette. 1871B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §115 The acid will retain the water and will not suffer it to evaporate.
with acc. and pple.a1325MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 31 b, Hoe..wollez bluþeloker suffren felonies idone to straunge passen biþoute peine þane aditi þe felons. 1563Homilies ii. Agst. Peril Idol. 1, Joas, and other Princes whiche eyther sette vp, or suffred suche aultars of Images vndestroyed. 1589Cooper Admon. 217 They..striue against God.., who wil not suffer it unpunished. 1592Kyd Sp. Trag. iii. xiii. 3, I, heauen will be reuenged of euery ill; Nor will they suffer murder vnrepaide. 1615Chapman Odyss. xiv. 133 These men..will never suffer left Their vniust wooing of his wife.
with acc. and compl. phr.c1375Cursor M. 22620 (Fairf.) Quy þi wrecched hande-werk in wa in þis fire þou suffris squa. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 344 Þis lif is ful of sorowe..þat suffriþ not blis wiþ it. 1390Gower Conf. I. 361 The faucon which..soeffreth nothing in the weie, Wherof that he mai take his preie. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 21 b, He that wol not suffre the stenche of my careyn aboue the erthe. 1525Ld. 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.
a1300Cursor M. 17239, I sufferd me for þe be slain. c1450Mirour Saluacioun (Roxb.) 72 Sampson soeffred hym self be bonden. 1526Tindale 1 Cor. vi. 7 Why rather suffre ye not youre selves to be robbed? 1671Woodhead St. Teresa ii. xi. 92 Love beginning to afford them sensible consolations, they too much suffer themselves to be carried away therewith. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 197 This is a Place that a Man is oblig'd sometimes to suffer himself to be used ill. 1837Lockhart Scott iv. (1871) 174 Brown Adam [sc. Scott's horse] never suffered himself to be backed but by his master. 1877in 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.
c1315Shoreham i. 780 He soffreþ noȝt to be to-trede, And of bestes deuoured. a1325MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 32 b, Ȝif a nellez noȝt suffri to ben resteid. 1474Caxton Chesse i. i. (1883) 9 He might not suffre to be repreuid and taught of hym. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxii. 94 Thus Jesus with his woundis wyde, As martir suffirit for to de. 1538Starkey England (1878) 178 Our cuntrey, wych wyl not suffur to be so ornat and so beutyful, in euery degre, as other cuntreys be. 1632Sir T. Hawkins tr. Mathieu's Unhappy Prosp. 80 He..endured contradiction, and sometime suffered to be cut off in his opinions. a1665Sir 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. 1764Goldsm. 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.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 187 So hadde Alfrede my broþer helped me, if Godwyn had i-suffred [1432–50 hade suffrede hym]. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 1 As fer as myn fraylnes wold suffre me. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §39 Let them [sc. lambs] sucke as longe as the dammes wyll suffre theym. 1530Palsgr. 742/2 Let us suffer hym and se what he wolde do. 1590Greene Orl. Fur. Wks. (Grosart) XIII. 135, I wish thee well, Orlando; get thee gone, Say that a centynell did suffer thee. 1604Dekker King's Entert. 277 Even children (might they have been suffred) would gladly have spent their little strength. 1663Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 483 Then all went in, soe many that were suffered. 1700T. 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. 1818Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXIII. 492 Let us hear him now, if indignation will suffer us. 1878J. 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.
c1290Beket 1615 in S. Eng. Leg. 152 Bote þov suffri him is riȝte lawes Ichulle bi-come þi fo. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1575 Hypsipyle, Alle tho that sufferede hym his wille. 1481Caxton 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.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4198, & þe wule he wolde þis tendre þing wemmy foule ynou, & heo ne miȝte sofry noȝt, Mid lecherye he hire slou. 1382Wyclif Luke xxii. 51 Suffre ȝe til hidur [Tindale, Soffre ye thus farre forthe]. c1400Destr. Troy 8094 A gloue of þat gay gate he belyue,..None seond but hir-selfe, þat suffert full well. 1605B. Jonson Sejanus iv, Still, do'st thou suffer Heau'n? will no flame, No heate of sinne make thy iust wrath to boile? 1613Purchas 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. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 47 If weather will suffer, this counsell I giue, Leaue sowing of wheat before Hallomas eue. 1612Brinsley Lud. Lit. xxii. (1627) 256 If his leisure will suffer.
▪ II. suffer
variant of sover a. and v. Sc. |