A seaman I would initially expect to put up with (5)
I believe the answer is:
abide
'put up with' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'a seaman i would initially expect' is the wordplay.
'a seaman' becomes 'ab' (short for able seaman).
'i would' becomes 'I'd'.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'expect' is 'e'.
'ab'+'id'+'e'='ABIDE'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for abide that I've seen before include "Wait for" , "Remain - tolerate" , "Stomach" , "lodge" , "Put up with" .)