Twice today I used the word abide to mean endure in the sense of tolerate or put up with. The word randomly popped into my mind when I could've just as easily said put up with instead. But I like what the brain sometimes comes up with when it goes into vocabulary shuffle mode, spinning through the collection of synonyms stored in all those terabytes of memory and popping out a random term, perhaps one that hasn't touched the tongue for a while, but you welcome again when it turns up, remembering what a fine, versatile term it is. And like a song, words can churn up feelings, like nostalgia or bemusement.
Abide, for example, conjures for me the velvet-cushioned pews, suppressed coughs, stretching effect of high ceilings on shadows, and poetic psalms from the churches of my youth along with the sonorous lyrics of that oldie but goodie hymn, "Abide With Me." I can't sing the lyrics anymore, but still that slow, dare I say ponderous, tune abides with me, imprinted deep somewhere in my cerebrum, perhaps.
And yes, abide also means endure in the sense of to last, to continue on without fading away. Which evokes a chuckle from me as I hear in my head Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey Lebowski intoning in that middle-aged slacker voice, "The Dude abides." Ah, The Big Lebowski, a witty cinematic confection from the Coen Brothers, full of all manner of memorable quotes!
Abide means "to live or dwell with." It also means "to remain stable or fixed," "to stand fast and unyielding." And it's also used to mean "to submit to" or "to tolerate," as in to abide by a decision or precept. To endure and to endure.
We call on God to abide with us, seeking a steadfast, unwavering presence to see us through life's vagaries. The Dude assures us that he abides. The Narrator at the close of The Big Lebowski tells us, "I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh. I sure hope he makes the finals."
Dictionary Definition
Pronounced: ə-bīd
Roots: Old English ābīdan meaning wait from ā- meaning ‘onward’ + bīdan.
1. accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation)
2. able to tolerate (someone or something)
3. continue without fading or being lost.
4. (archaic) live; dwell
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As soon as I saw "Abide" in your title, I prayed that the Dude would make an appearance.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that AND for the locution "vocabulary shuffle mode." I love that. It should spread like wildfire (or like a virus, mayhaps).