suffer

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To feel pain, distress, or hardship.

   Many artists suffer before becoming famous.

2. 2
   verb

   To be affected by an illness, injury, or problem.

   They suffered only minor injuries in the accident.

3. 3
   verb

   To become worse in quality.

   His grades suffered as the holidays approached.

4. 4
   verb

   To be regularly affected by an illness or weakness (suffer from).

   She suffers from terrible headaches.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Suffer entered Middle English from Latin sufferre, formed from sub-, “from below” or “under,” and ferre, “bear.” Its senses include “undergo” or “endure,” while the meaning “tolerate” developed in late Middle English.

From Middle English suffren, from Anglo-Norman suffrir, from Latin sufferre (“to offer, hold up, bear, suffer”), from sub- (“up, under”) + ferō (“to carry”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”). Displaced native Old English þrōwian.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary