maintenance

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmeɪn.tən.əns/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English maintenaunce,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French maintenance (“upkeep; shelter, protection”),^[2][3] from maintenir “to keep, sustain”,^[2][3] the source of maintain,^[2][4] and the suffix -ance.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, wrongfully aiding and abetting litigation: 1321–2 in the OED;^[6] the mid-14th century in Etymonline, of a lord or his followers interfering in others' lawsuits.^[2] Bearing or behaviour: about 1369, now obsolete.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Providing a person with the necessities of life, and financial support, is from the late 14th century (1389 in the OED).^[2][6] Upholding a cause or right is from 1413,^[6] and keeping something in working order or repair from about 1460, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[6][2] Support paid to a wife by a separated husband, separate maintenance, is from 1722.^[6] In medicine, giving a patient a drug over a long period, as a maintenance dose, is from 1936.^[6]

Timeline

• 1321–2 – wrongful aid in litigation.^[6]
• c. 1369 – bearing (obsolete).^[6]
• 1389 – financial support.^[6]
• 1413 – upholding a cause.^[6]
• c. 1460 – upkeep, repair.^[6]
• 1722 – separate maintenance.^[6]
• 1936 – a maintenance dose.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The work of keeping something in good condition; upkeep.
2. The act of maintaining or the state of being maintained.
3. Financial support, especially paid to a former spouse; alimony.
4. (law) Unlawful intervention in a lawsuit by aiding one party.

Word family

• nonmaintenance
• premaintenance
• maintenance-free
• health maintenance organization

Related words

• maintain
• manual
• tenant

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press