Abide

I always thought this just meant “obey,” but our pastor pointed out in a sermon that it actually means, effectively, “to continue obeying.”

Now, this caught my eye, of course, because of The Big Lebowski where the main character says, “The Dude abides” (at 0:48 in this video). By this, he doesn’t mean “The Dude obeys,” he means “The Dude continues on.”

From dictionarywiki:

“The Dude abides” essentially means, “The Dude is,” but it was not meant in a declarative or defiant sense. It was intended as an observation and statement of purpose. The Dude exists in peace with the many things that perturb him. There are many issues and problems, and he “abides” them, which means that he endures them and accepts them, withholding his approval but vowing his non-interference.