Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1708-1763, 1915
[1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
TOLERANCE, n. A licence or permission given, freq. by tacit consent, to someone to do or enjoy something to which he cannot establish a formal right, a forbearance or sufferance. Obs. in Eng. Phr. to take tolerance, to obtain such permission.Sc. 1708 Atholl MSS. (5 Feb.):
I by these presents Grant me to have taken Tolerance from his Grace The Duke of Atholl To pasture my cattle in the Shealling of Badnabeast.Sc. 1723 Session Papers, Forbes v. Wilson (16 July) 1:
So long as the Proprietar of the House observed the Term of the Tolerance, he should not build or plant in such a Manner, as to prejudge the Lights therein allowed.Sc. 1763 Caled. Mercury (11 April) 175:
He has an heritable and perpetual tolerance on the inexhaustible mosses of Aberdour.Sc. 1915 Session Cases 107:
The question is whether the use of a certain access was had by tolerance or whether it was as of right.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Tolerance n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tolerance>
