Etymologically
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sustain

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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

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)