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thole

Dialect
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A traditional Scots and Northern English verb meaning to endure, suffer, or bear hardship patiently, common in regional ballads.

Detailed Definition
This Scots verb means to bear or put up with something painful or difficult. Here it refers to the mouse having to endure the winter’s harsh conditions.
Example
Example in poetry:
Robert Burns uses Scots “thole” meaning endure or suffer in “To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble”; “I thole the wind” makes endurance physical and immediate; “Thole grief awhile” gives sorrow the sense of something borne; The dialect verb can compress hardship into one strong word
Additional Notes
“thole” is a Scots dialect verb in the poem and may be unfamiliar to many readers.; Found in the poem, To a Mouse by Robert Burns
Also Known As
endure bear withstand
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