Allowed to exist or continue even though you don't particularly like it or approve of it.
From Latin 'tolerare,' meaning 'to bear' or 'to carry.' The Romans used this word to describe bearing a heavy load, which metaphorically became bearing something difficult or unpleasant.
Tolerance originally meant bearing weight—like carrying something heavy—so when you 'tolerate' someone, you're not celebrating them, you're literally bearing with them. It's a word that captures that uncomfortable middle ground between acceptance and disapproval.
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