sustain

Pronunciation

• IPA: /səˈsteɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sustenen, borrowed from Old French sustenir (“to hold up, endure”) (modern French soutenir),^[2][3][4][5] from Latin sustineō (“to hold up, support, endure”), from sub- (“up from below”) and teneō (“to hold”) (see tenant),^[2][3][5][6] from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To support the cause of, to succour: about 1290 in the OED.^[7] To keep up or keep going: probably before 1300 in Barnhart;^[2] to provide the necessities of life, late 13th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To keep from falling, and to continue an action, are from the early 14th century.^[3] To endure pain or hardship without giving way is from about 1400.^[3] To uphold as valid, as in law, is from 1415.^[7] The noun, a means of sustenance, is from 1653, and in music the prolonging of a note, especially electronically, from 1972.^[7] Sustenance is probably from before 1300.^[2] In Scots to sustain an excuse was to admit it as valid.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1290 – to support, succour.^[7]
• probably before 1300 – sustenance.^[2]
• c. 1400 – to endure.^[3]
• 1415 – to uphold as valid.^[7]
• 1972 – sustain (music).^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To keep in existence; to maintain or prolong: to sustain a discussion.
2. To supply with necessities or nourishment.
3. To support from below; to keep from falling.
4. To keep up the spirits or strength of.
5. To withstand or endure: to sustain great provocation.
6. To suffer an injury or loss.
7. To uphold as valid.

Noun

1. (music) The prolonging of a note, especially electronically.

Word family

• sustainability
• sustainable
• sustainer
• sustainment
• sustainedly
• sustainingly
• self-sustaining
• sustaining

Related words

• sustenance
• tenant
• contain
• maintain

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)