bearableadj.
/ˈbɛːrəbl/, U.S. /ˈbɛrəb(ə)l/ΚΠ
c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 194 (MED) We mowe wirche vertuoseli bi þe movyng of pure freendful loue berable anentis þe same þingis.
2. Able to be (easily) carried or transported. Now rare.Often difficult to distinguish from sense 3.In quot. a1557 as part of an extended metaphor: cf. sense 3.
ΚΠ
a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) xxiii. 85 For yei bijnd vp heui burdens and hardli bearabil, and lai yem on mens scholders, but yei wil not with yeer finger remoov yem.
1655 Duchess of Newcastle Philos. & Physical Opinions clxxii. 132 This condensed or rarified vapor..flies violently about, carrying or driving whatsoever is bearable, loose or moveable along, or about with it.
1905 J. M. Simpson Six Months in Port Au Prince 44 The necessary ‘pack’..is placed on their backs to render the load bearable.
2015 R. Ricardo Prisoner's Argument (e-book, accessed 16 Oct. 2019) Poor us, there was nothing in the modest, one story, cinderblock building resembling a bearable instrument, cash, coin, or precious metal.
3. Able to be endured or coped with; tolerable; sufferable. Chiefly in predicative use.In earliest use with to.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > [adjective] > sufferable
sufferablea1340
supportablec1450
sustenable?1473
tolerablea1500
patible1623
bearable1656
endurable1800
the mind > emotion > calmness > patience > [adjective] > forbearing or tolerant > endurable or tolerable
portablec1450
supportablec1450
tolerablea1500
durable1509
comportable1599
tractable1605
bearable1656
endurable1800
brookable1824
liveable1841
1656 T. Moore Explicite Declar. Testimony of Christ vii. ix. 575 Their afflictions become light and bearable to them, their hearts cheered, comforted and strengthened.
1763 F. Brooke Hist. Lady Julia Mandeville II. 34 The most bearable man I have seen.
1833 G. H. Calvert Vol. from Life H. Barclay vii. 124 Any thing is more bearable than the self-complacence of a money-bloated upstart.
1897 Trans. N.Y. Odontol. Soc. 1896 96 It did not destroy all the pain, but it made it bearable.
1953 R. A. Heinlein Starman Jones xviii. 234 The pace was just bearable, between a fast walk and a dogtrot.
2016 Church Times 9 Dec. 18/3 They also invested in a large wood-burner to make life bearable in the harsh winter.
4. Of ice or its condition: capable of bearing or supporting a weight. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [adjective] > supporting > bearing weight
bearable1837
weight-bearing1959
1837 Scotsman 21 Jan. 2/7 The ice on the pond..was scarcely in a bearable condition.
1895 Daily News 11 Feb. 5/4 The Serpentine being covered with bearable ice.
1951 E. G. Rowland Hill Walking in Snowdonia iv. 35/2 It is an impressive sheet, especially as the writer saw it.., covered with a light pall of snow over bearable ice.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.c1454