8 results for: Sustenance

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

sus·te·nance

Audio Help [suhs-tuh-nuh

–noun

1.	means of sustaining life; nourishment.

2.	means of livelihood.

3.	the process of sustaining.

4.	the state of being sustained.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME sustena(u)nce < AF; OF sostenance. See sustain, -ance

]

—Related forms

sus·te·nance·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sustenance

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sus·te·nance Audio Help (sŭs'tə-nəns) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The act of sustaining.
2. The condition of being sustained.
The supporting of life or health; maintenance: "to deliver in every morning six beeves, forty sheep, and other victuals for my sustenance" (Jonathan Swift).
Something, especially food, that sustains life or health.
Means of livelihood.

[Middle English, from Old French, from sustenir, to sustain; see sustain.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sustenance

1297, "means of living, subsistence, livelihood," from O.Fr. sustenance (Fr. soutenance), from L.L. sustinentia "endurance," from L. sustinens, prp. of sustinere (see sustain). Meaning "action of sustaining life by food" is from c.1386. Sense of "nourishment" is recorded from c.1489.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

sustenance
noun
1.	a source of materials to nourish the body [syn: nutriment]
2.	the financial means whereby one lives; "each child was expected to pay for their keep"; "he applied to the state for support"; "he could no longer earn his own livelihood" [syn: support]
3.	the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence; "they were in want of sustenance"; "fishing was their main sustainment"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sustenance

Sus*tain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sustained; p. pr. & vb. n. Sustaining.] [OE. sustenen, susteinen, OF. sustenir, sostenir, F. soutenir (the French prefix is properly fr. L. subtus below, fr. sub under), L. sustinere; pref. sus- (see Sub-) + tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Sustenance.]

1. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as, a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight.

Every pillar the temple to sustain. --Chaucer.

2. Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the like; to support.

No comfortable expectations of another life to sustain him under the evils in this world. --Tillotson.

3. To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.

4. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate. --Shak.

His sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain. --Dryden.

5. To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under; as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.

6. To suffer; to bear; to undergo.

Shall Turnus, then, such endless toil sustain? --Dryden.

You shall sustain more new disgraces. --Shak.

7. To allow the prosecution of; to admit as valid; to sanction; to continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the court sustained the action or suit.

8. To prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition.

Syn: To support; uphold; subsist; assist; relieve; suffer; undergo.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sustenance

Sus"te*nance\, n. [OF. sustenance, sostenance, soustenance: cf. L. sustenentia endurance. See Sustain.]

1. The act of sustaining; support; maintenance; subsistence; as, the sustenance of the body; the sustenance of life.

2. That which supports life; food; victuals; provisions; means of living; as, the city has ample sustenance. "A man of little sustenance." --Chaucer.

For lying is thy sustenance, thy food. --Milton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sustenance

Sus`ten*tac"u*lar\, a. [See Sustenance.] (Anat.) Supporting; sustaining; as, a sustentacular tissue.

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