Etymologically
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upkeep

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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈʌpkip/[1]

Etymology

The noun is formed from English up- + keep,[2][3][4] after the verbal phrase keep up, to maintain in good order.[2][4][5][6] Etymonline dates the phrase to the 1660s,[5] Hoad to the 16th century.[6] An earlier verb upkeep, to support, formed from up- and the verb keep, is recorded only in late Middle English;[3][2] the modern verb is a back-formation from upkeeping, or a conversion of the noun.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The old verb meant to support, about 1412, in Hoccleve's De Regimine Principum.[2][3] The noun, maintenance in good repair or its cost, is recorded from 1884 in the Pall Mall Gazette,[2][4] and the OED notes that it became frequent from about 1885.[2] Etymonline dates it to 1849.[5]

Semantic evolution

The noun covered both the keeping of something in good condition and the cost of doing so from its first records.[2][5] Wright's English Dialect Dictionary records it in Scots of the 1890s for maintenance or charge, from Shetland to Ayrshire.[7] The verb returned in the 20th century, first recorded in 1926, meaning to keep something in good order;[2] Merriam-Webster labels it chiefly British.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1412 – verb, to support (obsolete).[2][3]
  • 1884 – noun, maintenance in good condition; also its cost.[2][4] Etymonline dates the noun to 1849.[5]
  • 1926 – verb, to keep in good order.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The work of keeping something in good condition or repair; maintenance: the upkeep of the old railway line.[8][4][2]
  2. The cost of such maintenance, or of supporting someone: The upkeep of the boat was more than they could afford.[8][4]

Verb

  1. (chiefly British) To keep something in good condition; to maintain it.[4][2]
  • keep
  • keep up
  • upkeeping

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins