thole
/θoʊl/verb, noun
thole is spelled T-H-O-L-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 99,289th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, thole means “To suffer” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thole?
| Letters | 5: T-H-O-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 11 million words; the 99,289th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is thole?
Thole appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 99,289th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce thole?
- UK /θəʊl/
- US /θoʊl/
Thole has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-thole.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Aadenboy-thole.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with thole?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as thole from its last stressed vowel (/oʊl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hotel, helot.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of thole
- tholes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- tholing participle, present
- tholed participle, past
- thowel
- thowl
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thole mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
datedTo suffer.
- 2
ScotlandTo endure, to put up with, to tolerate.
noun
- 1
A pin in the side of a boat which acts as a fulcrum for the oars.
- 2
A pin, or handle, of the snath (shaft) of a scythe.
- 3
A cupola, a dome, a rotunda; a tholus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thole in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pin for oars:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does thole come from?
From Middle English thōle, from tholen, tholien, from Old English þolian, from Proto-West Germanic *þolēn, from Proto-Germanic *þulāną (“to suffer”), from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“to bear, suffer; to support”), compare Norwegian Bokmål tåle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).