thole

¹

[ thohl ]

noun

1. a pin, or either of two pins, inserted into a gunwale to provide a fulcrum for an oar.

thole

²

[ thohl ]

verb (used with object)

, Chiefly Scot.

, tholed, thol·ing.

1. to suffer; bear; endure.

thole

¹

/ θəʊl; ˈθəʊlˌpɪn /

noun

1. a wooden pin or one of a pair, set upright in the gunwales of a rowing boat to serve as a fulcrum in rowing

thole

²

/ θəʊl /

verb

1. dialect.
   tr to put up with; bear
2. See suffer
   an archaic word for suffer

Word History and Origins

Origin of thole¹

before 900; Middle English tholle, Old English tholl; cognate with Low German dolle, Old Norse thollr; akin to Old Norse thǫll young fir-tree

Origin of thole²

First recorded before 900; Middle English tholen, Old English tholian; cognate with Old Norse thola, Gothic thulan; akin to Greek tlênai “to bear, endure,” Latin tolerāre ( tolerate )

Word History and Origins

Origin of thole¹

Old English tholl, related to Middle Low German dolle, Norwegian toll, Icelandic thollr

Origin of thole²

Old English tholian; related to Old Saxon, Old High German tholōn, Old Norse thola to endure: compare Latin tollere to bear up

Example Sentences

I canna thole him, wi' his lang-nebbit words, explainin' an' expoundin' the gude Book as if it had jist come oot!

From Project Gutenberg

So the boy was called Tweedie, and founded the great family of that name, whose legend was, “Thole and think.”

From Project Gutenberg

I heard the creak of thole-pins as the rowers gave way, and the wash of oars as the boat shot off into the dark.

From Project Gutenberg

His motto is Thole, and he gets too few opportunities of tholing.

From Project Gutenberg

The folk round could thole them no longer, so they just up and burned the fort aboot their lugs.

From Project Gutenberg