What does "patience" mean?
Patience: I must have patience to endure the load. Shak. Who hath learned lowliness From his Lord's cradle, patience from his cross. Keble.
Additional senses
- 2.The act or power of calmly or contentedly waiting for something due or hoped for; forbearance. Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Matt. xviii.
- 3.3. Constancy in labor or application; perseverance. He learned with patience, and with meekness taught. Harte.
- 4.Sufferance; permission. [Obs.] Hooker. They stay upon your patience. Shak.
- 5.(Bot.) A kind of dock (Rumex Patientia), less common in America than in Europe; monk's rhubarb.
- 6.(Card Playing) Solitaire. Patience implies the quietness or self- possession of one's own spirit under sufferings, provocations, etc.; resignation implies submission to the will of another. The Stoic may have patience; the Christian should have both patience and resignation.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00