sufferance

[ suhf-er-uh ns, suhf-ruh ns ]
/ ˈsʌf ər əns, ˈsʌf rəns /

noun

passive permission resulting from lack of interference; tolerance, especially of something wrong or illegal (usually preceded by on or by).
capacity to endure pain, hardship, etc.; endurance.
Archaic. suffering; misery.
Archaic. patient endurance.

Origin of sufferance

1250–1300; Middle English suffrance < Old French soufrance, < Late Latin sufferentia, equivalent to suffer(re) to suffer + -entia -ence, -ance

OTHER WORDS FROM sufferance

non·suf·fer·ance, noun

Words nearby sufferance

sufentanil citrate, suff., suffer, suffer fools gladly, sufferable, sufferance, suffering, suffern, suffice, suffice it to say, sufficiency

British Dictionary definitions for on sufferance

sufferance
/ (ˈsʌfərəns, ˈsʌfrəns) /

noun

tolerance arising from failure to prohibit; tacit permission
capacity to endure pain, injury, etc
the state or condition of suffering
archaic patient endurance
on sufferance with reluctance

Word Origin for sufferance

C13: via Old French from Late Latin sufferentia endurance, from Latin sufferre to suffer

Idioms and Phrases with on sufferance

on sufferance

Barely tolerated; agreed to but unwillingly. For example, They rarely put a non-academic on the panel, so obviously I was there on sufferance. This expression uses sufferance in the sense of “toleration,” a usage obsolete except in this idiom. [Mid-1500s]