ˈsəf(ə)rən(t)s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English suffrance, from Old French soufrance, from souffrir to suffer + -ance
1. : patient endurance : forbearance under provocation : long-suffering
still have I borne it with a patient shrug, for sufferance is the badge of all our tribe — Shakespeare
2. archaic : an act, state, or instance of suffering : pain , misery
sufferances that you had borne — Shakespeare
3. : consent or sanction that is not explicit but is implied by a lack of interference or the failure to enforce a prohibition : toleration of something that is usually disapproved or illegal : passive or tacit permission — used usually with on, by or through
he remains here on sufferance
by sufferance only were they allowed to enter the country
specifically : the legal condition of one continuing in the possession of an estate after his right to it has expired and without express leave from the owner — used with at or by
a tenant at sufferance
estates by sufferance
4. : power or ability to endure or withstand : endurance
it is beyond sufferance
5. : bill of sufferance