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sustain

 [suh-steyn]   Origin

sus·tain

   [suh-steyn]
verb (used with object)
1.
to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
2.
to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
3.
to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
4.
to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
5.
to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.
EXPAND
6.
to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
7.
to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
8.
to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
9.
to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it: The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
10.
to confirm or corroborate, as a statement: Further investigation sustained my suspicions.
COLLAPSE
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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English suste(i)nen < Anglo-French sustenir, Old French < Latin sustinēre to uphold, equivalent to sus- sus- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre to hold

Related forms
sus·tain·a·ble, adjective
sus·tain·ed·ly  [suh-stey-nid-lee, -steynd-] , adverb
sus·tain·ing·ly, adverb
sus·tain·ment, noun
non·sus·tained, adjective
EXPAND
non·sus·tain·ing, adjective
pre·sus·tained, adjective
un·sus·tained, adjective
un·sus·tain·ing, adjective
well-sus·tained, adjective
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. carry. See support. 3. bear. 5. maintain.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Sustain is an LSAT word you need to know.
So is derive. Does it mean:
expose to an enemy by treachery; to disappoint the hopes or expectations of
to trace from a source or origin
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Collins
World English Dictionary
sustain (səˈsteɪn)
 
—vb
1.  to hold up under; withstand: to sustain great provocation
2.  to undergo (an injury, loss, etc); suffer: to sustain a broken arm
3.  to maintain or prolong: to sustain a discussion
4.  to support physically from below
5.  to provide for or give support to, esp by supplying necessities: to sustain one's family; to sustain a charity
6.  to keep up the vitality or courage of
7.  to uphold or affirm the justice or validity of: to sustain a decision
8.  to establish the truth of; confirm
 
—n
9.  music the prolongation of a note, by playing technique or electronics
 
[C13: via Old French from Latin sustinēre to hold up, from sub- + tenēre to hold]
 
sus'tained
 
—adj
 
sustainedly
 
—adv
 
sus'taining
 
—adj
 
sus'tainingly
 
—adv
 
sus'tainment
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sustain
late 13c., from O.Fr. sustenir "hold up, endure," from L. sustinere "hold up, support, endure," from sub "up from below" + tenere "to hold" (see tenet).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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