to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain: to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
2.
to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired: to maintain order; to maintain public highways.
3.
to keep in a specified state, position, etc.: to maintain a correct posture; to maintain good health.
4.
to affirm; assert; declare: He maintained that the country was going downhill.
5.
to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.
6.
to keep or hold against attack: to maintain one's ground.
7.
to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of: to maintain a family.
8.
to sustain or support: not enough water to maintain life.
[Origin: 1200–50; ME mainteinen < OF maintenir ≪ ML manūtenére, L manū tenére lit., to hold in hand, equiv. to manū, abl. of manus hand (see manual) + tenére to hold (see tenet)]
—Related forms
main·tain·a·ble, adjective
main·tain·a·bil·i·ty, noun
main·tain·er, noun
—Synonyms 1. continue. 1, 2. keep up. 4. asseverate. Maintain,assert,aver,allege,hold,state all mean to express an opinion, judgment, or position. Maintain carries the implications of both firmness and persistence in declaring or supporting a conviction: She maintained her client's innocence even in the face of damaging evidence. Assert suggests assurance, confidence, and sometimes aggressiveness in the effort to persuade others to agree with or accept one's position: He asserted again and again the government's right to control the waterway. Aver, like assert, implies confident declaration and sometimes suggests a firmly positive or peremptory tone; in legal use aver means “to allege as fact”: to aver that the evidence is incontrovertible. Allege indicates a statement without evidence to support it, and thus can imply doubt as to the validity or accuracy of an assertion: The official is alleged to have been unaware of the crime. Hold means simply to have or express a conviction or belief: We hold these truths to be self-evident; She held that her rights had been violated. State usually suggests a declaration that is forthright and unambiguous: He stated his reasons in clear, simple language. 5. uphold, defend, vindicate, justify. 7.See support.
To keep up or carry on; continue: maintain good relations.
To keep in an existing state; preserve or retain: maintain one's composure.
To keep in a condition of good repair or efficiency: maintain two cars.
To provide for; support: maintain a family.
To keep in existence; sustain: enough food to maintain life.
To defend or hold against criticism or attack: maintained his stand on taxes.
To declare to be true; affirm: maintained her innocence.
To adhere or conform to; keep: maintain a busy schedule.
[Middle English maintainen, from Old French maintenir, from Medieval Latin manutenēre, from Latin manū tenēre, to hold in the hand : manū, ablative of manus, hand; see man-2 in Indo-European roots + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]
main·tain'a·bil'i·ty n., main·tain'a·ble adj., main·tain'er n.
c.1250, "to practice habitually," from Anglo-Fr. meintenir (O.Fr. maintenir), from L. manu tenere "hold in the hand," from manu, abl. of manus "hand" (see manual) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Meaning "to carry on, keep up" is from c.1350; that of "to keep oneself, to support" is from 1375. Sense of "to defend in speech" is from 1340.
keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"; "hold in place"; "She always held herself as a lady"; "The students keep me on my toes" [syn: keep]
2.
keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; "We preserve these archeological findings"; "The old lady could not keep up the building"; "children must be taught to conserve our national heritage"; "The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts" [syn: conserve]
3.
supply with necessities and support; "She alone sustained her family"; "The money will sustain our good cause"; "There's little to earn and many to keep" [syn: sustain]
As*sert"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asserted; p. pr. & vb. n. Asserting.] [L. assertus, p. p. of asserere to join or fasten to one's self, claim, maintain; ad + serere to join or bind together. See Series.]1. To affirm; to declare with assurance, or plainly and strongly; to state positively; to aver; to asseverate. Nothing is more shameful . . . than to assert anything to be done without a cause. --Ray. 2. To maintain; to defend. [Obs. or Archaic] That . . . I may assert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. --Milton. I will assert it from the scandal. --Jer. Taylor. 3. To maintain or defend, as a cause or a claim, by words or measures; to vindicate a claim or title to; as, to assert our rights and liberties. To assert one's self, to claim or vindicate one's rights or position; to demand recognition. Syn: To affirm; aver; asseverate; maintain; protest; pronounce; declare; vindicate. Usage: To Assert, Affirm, Maintain, Vindicate. To assert is to fasten to one's self, and hence to claim. It is, therefore, adversative in its nature. We assert our rights and privileges, or the cause of tree institutions, as against opposition or denial. To affirm is to declare as true. We assert boldly; we affirm positively. To maintain is to uphold, and insist upon with earnestness, whatever we have once asserted; as, to maintain one's cause, to maintain an argument, to maintain the ground we have taken. To vindicate is to use language and measures of the strongest kind, in defense of ourselves and those for whom we act. We maintain our assertions by adducing proofs, facts, or arguments; we are ready to vindicate our rights or interests by the utmost exertion of our powers.
Main*tain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Maintained; p. pr. & vb. n. Maintaining.] [OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L. tenere). See Manual, and Tenable.]1. To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation. 2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish. God values . . . every one as he maintains his post. --Grew. 3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail. Maintain talk with the duke. --Shak. 4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed. Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life. --Stirling. What maintains one vice would bring up two children. --Franklin. 5. To affirm; to support or defend by argument. It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it. --South. Syn: To assert; vindicate; allege. See Assert.
Main"te*nance\, n. [OF. maintenance. See Maintain.]1. The act of maintaining; sustenance; support; defense; vindication. Whatsoever is granted to the church for God's honor and the maintenance of his service, is granted to God. --South. 2. That which maintains or supports; means of sustenance; supply of necessaries and conveniences. Those of better fortune not making learning their maintenance. --Swift. 3. (Crim. Law) An officious or unlawful intermeddling in a cause depending between others, by assisting either party with money or means to carry it on. See Champerty. --Wharton. Cap of maintenance. See under Cap.
Man"u*al\ (m[a^]n"[-u]*al), a. [OE. manuel, F. manuel, L. manualis, fr. manus hand; prob. akin to AS. mund hand, protection, OHG. munt, G. m["u]ndel a ward, vormund guardian, Icel. mund hand. Cf. Emancipate, Legerdemain, Maintain, Manage, Manner, Manure, Mound a hill.] Of or pertaining to the hand; done or made by the hand; as, manual labor; the king's sign manual. "Manual and ocular examination." --Tatham. Manual alphabet. See Dactylology. Manual exercise (Mil.) the exercise by which soldiers are taught the use of their muskets and other arms. Seal manual, the impression of a seal worn on the hand as a ring. Sign manual. See under Sign.
Ten"a*ble\, a. [F. tenable, fr. tenir to hold, L. tenere. See Thin, and cf. Continue, Continent, Entertain, Maintain, Tenant, Tent.] Capable of being held, naintained, or defended, as against an assailant or objector, or againts attempts to take or process; as, a tenable fortress, a tenable argument. If you have hitherto concealed his sight, Let it be tenable in your silence still. --Shak. I would be the last man in the world to give up his cause when it was tenable. --Sir W. Scott.
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