I'm unfamilar with the word "abide" which is famously used the the movie quote "The Dude abides" (The Big Lebowski).
Looking it up in a German/English dictionary makes me believe it's "The Dude lives on", but I heard the word used on a way that makes it seem to be a variant of "approve", as in "The Dude does not abide this behavior".
I hear it used as "to obey" a lot, as in "we must all abide by the rules".
Can someone shed some light into the meaning of "The Dude abides" in the context it's been used?
Best Answer
Some discussions of the movie reference a peaceful, almost zen acceptance, as well as the idea that
A discussion on Reddit of what "the Dude abides" means has some consensus that it's an
and that the definitions "accept" and "continue" make sense in this context.
As @wfaulk points out, today we usually use abide transitively to mean things like trusting in, accepting or obeying; so it doesn't mean The Dude accepts or endures a particular thing, but I agree that the phrase still can imply a sense of patience or toleration, even if it's just the way someone waits or continues.
If you look at the etymology of abide, you can see how some of these meanings emerge:
and going back to bide:
I think you're right: The Dude endures; The Dude lives on.