I know that people have gone to great lengths to define the term in the context of the Dudeist holy cannon, but one thing of note.
The term is only used by one other character in the film.
Jeff Lebowski. This other Jeffrey Lebowski. The millionaire.
Quote
LEBOWSKI
I have no choice but to tell these
bums that they should do whatever is
necessary to recover their money
from you, Jeffrey Lebowski. And
with Brandt as my witness, tell you
this: Any further harm visited upon
Bunny, shall be visited tenfold upon
your head.
Between thumb and forefinger the Dude holds up the contents
of the package--a little toe, with emerald green nail polish.
LEBOWSKI
...By God sir. I will not abide
another toe.
I would remind you that throughout the movie the Dude's dialog is generally made up of quoting other characters from preceding scenes.
"Parlance of our times", "This aggression will not stand", "Johnson", "Vagina".
Given the several definitions of Abide.....
has it ever occurred to you, man, that given the
nature of all this new shit, that, uh, that this whole thing might just
be, not, you know, not just such a simple, but uh--you know?
Quote
a?bide
əˈbīd/
verb
verb: abide; 3rd person present: abides; past tense: abided; past participle: abided; gerund or present participle: abiding
1.
accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation).
"I said I would abide by their decision"
synonyms: comply with, obey, observe, follow, keep to, hold to, conform to, adhere to, stick to, stand by, act in accordance with, uphold, heed, accept, go along with, acknowledge, respect, defer to
"he expected everybody to abide by the rules"
antonyms: flout, disobey
2.
informal
be unable to tolerate (someone or something).
"if there is one thing I cannot abide it is a lack of discipline"
synonyms: tolerate, bear, stand, put up with, endure, take, countenance; More
informalstomach;
formalbrook;
archaicsuffer
"I can't abide the smell of cigarettes"
antonyms: enjoy, relish
3.
(of a feeling or a memory) continue without fading or being lost.
synonyms: continue, remain, survive, last, persist, stay, live on
"the memory of our parting will abide"
antonyms: fade, disappear
archaic
live; dwell.
Origin
The number 2 definition.
If the Dude abides in that sense then he puts up with whatever unpleasantness he's presented with. That would certainly jive with thisahere story.
He got taken out of Abiding to a place of "This aggression will not stand. . .
This will not stand!"
And by the end he was back to Abiding.
Interesting thoughts, man.
And aren't they always when you delve into semantics? I mean - meanings...
Knowing what someone else's definition is of a word, and their usage is just as important as the word itself.
It reminds me of that old joke:
Analyzing a novel - "..the car was blue."
What you think the author meant - The car was some shade of blue.
What your literary professor says it meant - It was symbolic of his internal angst and ongoing depression; the vehicle that propelled him forward was also his anchor into a deeper and more troubling set of emotional agony.
What the author actually meant - The car was fucking blue.