sustainn.
/səˈsteɪn/, U.S. /səˈsteɪn/ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > [noun] > preservation in being or maintenance > that which
foodOE
breadc1175
sustainera1325
sustenance?a1430
maintainer1551
sustain1567
aliment?1608
alimony1626
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. f. 222v For the susteine [Fr. pour le soustien, It. modo di poter sostener] of her selfe, and supporte of her miserable children.
1673 J. Milton Psalm III in Poems (new ed.) 133 I lay and slept, I wak'd again, For my sustain Was the Lord.
1712 in H. Paton Minnigaff Parish Rec. (1939) 288 For sustain of Margret M'Kies child deceased..£5.
2. Music. The sustaining of a musical note; an instance or the effect of this. Earliest in sustain pedal n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [noun] > movement of parts > sustained note
holding-note1776
point d'orgue?1779
pedal note1786
pedal point1814
pedal1854
organ point1865
sustention1883
sustain1951
1951 R. B. Turnbull Radio & Television Sound Effects viii. 87 The sustain pedal is held down, leaving the strings free.
1955 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 8 May 4 b/2 (advt.) The Lowrey's [sc. an organ] exclusive ‘solos’ for tonal variety—plus the choice of pedal ‘sustain’ and ‘attack’.
1972 Guitar Mag. Oct. 19/2 These instruments produced a fantastic sustain.
1985 Internat. Musician June 77/3 A sound which has a great sustain and very good tonal quality.
1993 R. Walser Running with Devil ii. 50 The sustain of the distorted electric guitar, besides being important for the production of power chords, increases its potential as a virtuoso solo instrument.
2006 Mod. Drummer Nov. 33/2 The muffling rings certainly control sustain, making the drum nice and fat-sounding without a lot of boominess.
Compounds
Music. C1. attributive (in sense 2); spec. designating a control on a musical instrument which affects how long the notes produced are sustained.
ΚΠ
1960 Racine (Wisconsin) Jrnl.-Times 18 Mar. 30/7 (advt.) Famous Kinsman organs... 5 special percussion and sustain controls.
1962 C. R. Pittman & E. J. Oliver Servicing Electronic Organs vii. 137 The sustain effect may be applied simultaneously to these voices to give the necessary sounding.
1974 D. Friend et al. Learning Music with Synthesizers ii. 94 The sustain slider permits you to control..whether the initial decay will be halted before the final release.
1986 Keyboard Player Apr. 15/3 The only analog type controls are the Multi Equalizer and Sustain levers of which there are 11.
2001 New Yorker 20 Aug. 82/2 The speed with which the sound [of a piano note] becomes inaudible—the sustain time.
C2.
sustain pedal n. (a) a sustaining pedal on a piano; (also) a pedal on an electronic keyboard which produces a similar effect; (b) an effects pedal for a guitar which, when activated, lengthens the duration of notes played.
ΚΠ
1951Sustain pedal [see sense 2].
1978 Guitar Player June in M. Molenda Guitar Player presents Carlos Santana (2010) 38 I never use sustain pedals... You have to find a kind of guitar that resonates.
1983 Times 30 Nov. 18/5 (advt.) Brand new Yamaha electric piano, plus sustain pedal.
1999 Guardian (Nexis) 14 Jan. 10 If post-rock means guitar-shaped noodling that's capable of existing indefinitely on a diet of sustain pedals and distortion, the upstate New York sextet fit the bill, and then some.
2006 B. Halpin Only Basic Piano Instr. Bk. you'll ever Need 113 The sustain pedal releases the damper pads, allowing the strings to resonate longer until the sounds naturally dissipate, or until you take your foot off the pedal.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sustainv.
/səˈsteɪn/, U.S. /səˈsteɪn/α. Middle English sosteine, Middle English sosteini (south-west midlands), Middle English sostene, Middle English sosteyne, Middle English sostine, Middle English sostyene (south-eastern), Middle English sostyeni (south-eastern), Middle English sousteene, Middle English sousteine, Middle English sousteini (south-west midlands), Middle English soustene, Middle English sousteyne, Middle English suisteyned (past participle, perhaps transmission error), Middle English susteene, Middle English susteini (south-west midlands), Middle English susteiny (south-west midlands), Middle English susten, Middle English susteni, Middle English susteny (south-western), Middle English susteyigne, Middle English susteyni (south-west midlands), Middle English susteyny (south-west midlands), Middle English susteynye (south-west midlands), Middle English sustien, Middle English sustiene, Middle English sustyene, Middle English sustyne, Middle English svnsteyne (transmission error), Middle English yusteyned (past participle, transmission error), Middle English 1600s susteen, Middle English–1500s substeyne, Middle English–1500s susteign, Middle English–1500s sustigne, Middle English–1600s sustaine, Middle English–1600s sustayn, Middle English–1600s sustayne, Middle English–1600s susteigne, Middle English–1600s susteine, Middle English–1600s sustene, Middle English–1600s susteyn, Middle English–1600s susteyne, Middle English– sustain, late Middle English stysteneys (3rd singular present indicative, transmission error), 1500s–1600s sustein, 1500s–1600s swstene; Scottish pre-1700 sestynnit (past participle), pre-1700 soustenyt (past tense), pre-1700 suestnit (past tense), pre-1700 sustaine, pre-1700 sustane, pre-1700 sustayne, pre-1700 sustean, pre-1700 susteane, pre-1700 susteene, pre-1700 sustein, pre-1700 susteine, pre-1700 susten, pre-1700 sustene, pre-1700 susteyn, pre-1700 susteyne, pre-1700 sustine, pre-1700 swstyne, pre-1700 1700s– sustain, pre-1700 1800s– susteen.
β. Middle English suteigne, Middle English suteynde (past participle), Middle English suteyned (past participle).
I. To support, maintain, uphold.† 7. transitive. With infinitive as object. To be able (to do something); to be equal (to doing something). Obsolete.
1. † b. transitive. To maintain (a physical object) in good condition or working order; spec. (a) to maintain (a building) in good repair; (b) to keep (a lamp, candle, etc.) burning. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To keep in existence, maintain; spec. to cause to continue in a certain state for an extended period or without interruption; to keep or maintain at the proper level, standard, or rate; to preserve the status of. Also, in early use, with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > maintaining state or condition > maintain [verb (transitive)]
i-haldOE
sustainc1300
keepc1315
maintainc1390
conservea1425
continuec1460
entertain1490
persevere1502
uphold?1523
containa1538
petrifya1631
conservate1647
to keep on1669
to keep up1670
preserve1677
support1696
fix1712
ossify1800
fossilize1848
c1300 St. Katherine (Laud) 68 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 94 Þis Aumperour sende..is sonde Þat þe gretteste maistres of clergie to him comen..for-to susteinen op heore lawe þoru strencþe of clergie.
c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 1605 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 152 (MED) He þat sosteinez vuele lawes, ase wel he haueth sunne.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7697 No time nas Þet pes bet isusteined þan bi his time was.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 6507 (MED) He..muche louede holi chirche & susteinede al so.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 57 Þo þet þe tauernes sustyeneþ byeþ uelaȝes of alle þe zennen þat byeþ y-do ine hare tauernes.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. ix. l. 108 Trewe wedded libbing folk..mote worche & wynne and þe worlde susteyne.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 294 The honour of his regne to sustene.
a1449 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 777 Trewe iuges and sergeauntis of the lawe..Holde trouthe and sustene rightwisnesse.
?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton i. sig. dj He deyed for to holde & susteyne the lawe & trouthe.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) 59 Whanne Ligurgus and Foreus..had stablischid the lawes, thei reseruid vnto the princes for to declare and susteyne them.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ii. sig. O5v That great Queene..That with her soueraine powre,..All Faery lond does peaceably sustene.
1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 xlvii. 13 Two Chiefs..Each able to sustain a Nations fate.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 213 Remus with Quirinus shall sustain, The righteous Laws.
1700 M. Prior Carmen Sæculare 1 Happy Pow'r sustain'd by wholesom Laws.
a1760 I. H. Browne Poems (1768) 126 Thus happy, I reck not of France nor of Spain, Nor the balance of power what hand shall sustain.
1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. vi. 212 The rule of good, no longer enforced by its proper penalties, requires to be sustained by some equivalent expedient.
1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. §45. 406 If it [sc. Protestantism] has destroyed much it has also created much, and is now sustaining much.
1875 H. E. Manning Internal Mission of Holy Ghost viii. 211 We are creatures who have come forth from His omnipotence, and are sustained by His almighty power.
1935 H. A. L. Fisher Hist. Europe I. xv. 179 Swedish mercenaries..helped to sustain the Byzantine state.
1945 New Biol. 1 42 A gross reproduction rate sustained at a level below 1·0 signifies that no reduction of mortality could save the community from eventual extinction.
1990 Atlantic May 54/1 The caution nuclear capabilities encourage and the bipolarity they sustain have created the framework for a reasonably stable international order.
2005 Wall St. Jrnl. 31 Jan. (Central ed.) b7/6 [He] dismissed skeptics' concerns about the company's ability to sustain its rate of growth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > preserve from injury or destruction [verb (transitive)] > preserve in proper condition
feeda1000
sustaina1325
keepa1382
entertain1477
uphold1511
upkeep1926
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > preserve from injury or destruction [verb (transitive)] > preserve in proper condition > provide for
sustaina1325
maintain1389
a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) i. 4 He þat hald þe warde of suech lond, also longe ase he hit hald he sal sustenen þe huses, parkes, visweres, stuwes, mullen ant alle oþer þinges þat fallez to þe londe.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 20 (MED) Þre þousand marke he gaf..To Petir & Paule of Rome, to susteyn þer light.
c1431 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 15 That the same Wardeyns & their Successours fynde & susteyn v tapers of wexe..to brenne vpon my candylstyk.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 491 And they shold susteyne the seid mese, with ther owne costis, in al so good state or better than they resceived hit.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 602 ij lampes to be susteyned with oyle.
1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. vi If an house be lette to holde at wyll, the lessee is nat holden to sustayne or repayre the house.
1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. §103 C The saide J. shall well..sustaine & maintaine the houses & buildings which be..builded.
c. transitive. To provide for the upkeep, running, or general maintenance of (an institution, establishment, estate, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > bear or defray the cost of > of maintenance or upkeep
sustainc1350
maintain1389
support1431
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 90 (MED) Þe mone þat is vnder hire feet ben bitokned erþelich þinges wiþ whiche holy chirche oweþ to be sustened in þis dedlich lijf.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 5636 He spareth..His pore estate forto sustene.
c1475 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1974) 173 (MED) The peeple is a notable membre of a reame withoute the whiche the chirche nor the nobles may neuir suffise to make a body of policye nor to susteyne theire estates.
1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel f. 68 The pore congregacions and comon scoles and vniuersities be sustained and maintayned.
1627 Rep. Parishes Scotl. (1835) 127 Thair is a schoole bot sustained by the labouraris of the grovnd.
1688 P. Rycaut tr. G. de la Vega Royal Comm. Peru (new ed.) iv. ii. 662 They should be unable to support and sustain their Monasteries, and Churches, and Hospitals.
1787 Parl. Reg. Ireland VII. 81 If the hand of parliament did not sustain the institution now in question, it must fall to ruin.
1824 A. Cary Addr. Mass. Charitable Mech. Assoc. 21 The liberality and discretion with which he has sustained other institutions for industrial and technical education.
1891 E. M. Bliss Encycl. Missions II. 492/2 The Society sustains six day-schools, four of which are for Mohammedan purdah girls.
1917 A. Cahan Rise of David Levinsky (1993) ii. i. 27 Like most yeshivahs , it was sustained by donations, and instruction in it was free.
1994 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 23 June 17/2 Diana has..got back more than 3,000 hectares of the estate which originally sustained the castle.
2.
a. To maintain (a person, etc.) in life and health; to provide with food, drink, and other substances necessary for remaining alive; to feed, to keep.
(a) transitive. With a person, an animal, one's body, etc., as object.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply (something) [verb (transitive)] > provide means of support for
findc1225
sustainc1300
found1377
keep1377
maintainc1405
sustent?a1425
support1493
uphold1546
subsist1547
escota1616
fend1637
aliment1660
run1871
grub-stake1879
c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Laud) 552 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 447 He was at pounteneye swiþe faire under-fongue And isusteyned [c1300 Harl. isustened] in his anuy.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2354 He nadde noȝt inou is kniȝtes to soustene.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. l. 275 Þorw þe mylke of þat mylde best þe man was susteyned.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 68 Of concubines ilke man takes als many as he may sustene of his gudes.
c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 797 Alle þe godus þat ȝe geten..Serven for to sustaine ȝour unsely wombe.
?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton i. sig. aiij Thou oughtest to loue thy fader and moder nexte after god, and to..susteyne them in theyr necessytees.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 187 They oughte to helpe and susteyne the wydowes an orphenyns.
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. F2 Not content to..sustaine his hungry bodie with wythred scallions and greene cheese.
1653 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. New Test. 21 Bread or ordinary means of susteining men.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 415 Whatever was created, needs To be sustaind and fed. View more context for this quotation
1685 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 482 The daughter of a poore labouring man who sustain'd her parents..by her labour.
1712 J. Bockett Gentile Divinity & Morality 58 Fathers get Riches with Deceit and Craft to sustain their Children.
1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. I. iv. 322 The difficulty of sustaining their children becomes so great, that it is not uncommon to abandon or destroy them.
1828 New Monthly Mag. 22 272 [He] lost it to the last livre, and had nothing left to retrieve his losses, or to sustain his family.
1899 Gleanings Bee Culture 1 Apr. 257/1 If I resided outside of a city, I could easily live and sustain my family on the product of the bee business.
1922 Amer. Jrnl. Clin. Med. July 522/2 Doctor Martin was a son of a farmer—one who toiled and sustained his family from the earth itself.
1974 D. Damas Nomads of North in J. Billard World of Amer. Indian 78 (caption) To sustain family and dogs, an inland hunter had to kill 150 or more of these animals a year.
(b) transitive (reflexive).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply [verb (reflexive)] > provide for one's own needs
sustain?c1335
chevise1362
findc1405
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eat [verb (reflexive)] > maintain life with food
sustain?c1335
?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 124 (MED) Sum þer beþ þat swinkiþ sore Winne catel to hab more, Ham silf fair to susteni.
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 40 He may nought ne haue nouȝthe to susteyne him self.
1491 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1491/4/10 Gif the said are have na blanchferme nor fewferme landis, to sustene thaim on.
1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 222 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 267 That na Apperance of feist be heir sene Bot sobirly our selffis dois sustene.
1641 in J. Nicholson Minute Bk. War Comm. Covenanters Kirkcudbright 1 Jan. (1855) 157 Thair..families are reducit to extreme miserie..not haveing quhairupon to sustein thame.
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xlvi. 180 Going into the woods we sustained ourselves with a certain herb like unto Sorrell.
1730 D. Humphreys Hist. Acct. Soc. Propagation Gospel 278 The Northern Americans bordering on the British Colonies were utterly Barbarian..sustaining themselves with hunting, fishing, and the spontaneous Products of the Earth.
1797 Crit. Rev. May 16 They held indeed small portions of land by way of sustaining themselves and families.
1831 W. Scott Count Robert viii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 165 Birds, incapable of sustaining themselves, sunk down exhausted out of their native element.
1866 Pop. Mag. Anthropol. Jan. 28 [He] has for generations sustained himself in a thriving condition.
1935 H. L. Mencken Diary 6 Mar. (1989) 92 He doesn't need much extra money to sustain himself.
1989 P. Mailloux Hesitation before Birth xxv. 410 He had, he said, been tramping the roads for ten years, sustaining himself entirely by begging.
b. transitive. Of land, a place, etc.: to provide or be the source of the food, drink, etc., necessary to keep (a person) alive and healthy; (of food, drink, etc.) to give essential nourishment to (a person).
ΚΠ
c1300 St. Leonard (Harl.) l. 94 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 479 (MED) So moche folc þider gan falle Þat þe place nowhar neȝ nemiȝte susteny alle.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7755 (MED) Hom þoȝte in engelond so muche folc neuere nas Þat it was wonder ware þoru isousteined it was.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 285 (MED) Þen ys þer bred þat ys gostly fode and susteynyth þe sowle as oþer bred doþe þe body.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 50 Other cuntreys in lyke space or les dothe susteyn much more pepul then dothe thys ourys.
c1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 3 Ane hes that micht ane hundreith weill susteine.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 7 Their territories though large and fruitfull, too narrow to sustaine so populous a State.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 93 Enough remains..His Wife, and tender Children to sustain . View more context for this quotation
1722 T. Sharp Charity Serm. 21 Sustaining them a while with perishable Food..or other such transient Favours, in Administration to their bodily Necessities.
1792 Analyt. Rev. Jan. 52 Many animals live solely on animal food; but..the animals on whom they live, are sustained by vegetables.
1844 Chemist 5 217/2 The animal kingdom..being ultimately sustained solely by vegetable substances.
1898 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Indian Affairs 221 There is sufficient hay land on the reservation to sustain some thousands of cattle.
1913 W. Thompson Primary Hist. U.S. (rev. ed.) xvii. 121 He trudged all the way through the snow, with only parched corn to sustain him.
1986 J. Cox Spirit of Gardening 25 Which species sustained Lewis and Clark when they had no other food..we don't know.
2004 G. Seymour Unknown Soldier ix. 176 She brought him the water that sustained him.
c. transitive. To support or maintain (life) by providing food, drink, and other necessities.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > [verb (transitive)] > sustain life
sustainc1330
lead?a1366
finda1450
sustentate1542
breast1573
subsist1612
to keep body (life) and soul togethera1616
preserve1694
to eke out1825
c1330 (?c1300) Reinbrun (Auch.) in J. Zupitza Guy of Warwick (1891) 641 Lite þai ete & dronke..Vnneþe her lif sostened is.
c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 63 The lif of the bodi may not be sustened with-oute that he take his refeccion bodily.
?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton iv. sig. hjv Thou oughtest not to requyre..of god, but that whiche is vtyle and prouffytable to the for to susteyne nature humayn.
?1536 ( Jack Upland l. 12 in W. W. Skeat Chaucerian & Other Pieces (1897) 191 Neither they tillen ne sowen,..neither nothing that man shuld helpe but only hem-selves, hir lyves to sustein.
1592 T. Tymme Plaine Discouerie Ten Eng. Lepers F ij Not to sustaine nature..but to fulfill insaciable gurmandize.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iii. 97 O sacred Symples that our life sustaine.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 124 They..labour Honey to sustain their Lives. View more context for this quotation
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 352 Air to breath in, Food to sustain Life, Cloths for Warmth, and Liberty for Exercise.
1802 J. Ritson Ess. Abstinence Animal Food ix. 186 The peasants of modern Ægypt..are hire'd labourers, to whom no more is left than barely sufficeës to sustain life.
1880 Times 10 Nov. 9/4 The multiplication of the means of sustaining life will act..only as a cause of the further multiplication of life.
1915 Educ. Rev. Mar. 255 What products capable of sustaining life does the country raise and how much?
1987 K. Lette Girls' Night Out (1989) 65 I know being on the dole is like being on an insulin drip, but at least it sort of, you know..sustains life.
d. transitive. To supply or satisfy (a person's needs, wants, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply (something) [verb (transitive)] > supply (needs or wants)
furnish1496
supporta1500
beeta1522
sustain1539
nourish1568
to set forthc1610
sustenate1712
1539 R. Morison tr. Frontinus Strategemes & Policies Warre iii. sig. kvii With that foode they holpe and susteyned the nede..of theyr felowes.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 121v They enioye all benefites of peace, hauing..their houses furnished when others are fired, where they haue all thinges for superfluitie, others nothing to sustaine their neede.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iv. ii. 128 Ile be with you againe: In a trice, like to the old vice, your neede to sustaine . View more context for this quotation
1691 T. Tryon Wisdom's Dictates 81 A few things will sustain their wants.
1745 N. Hooke Rom. Hist. II. iv. ii. 23 The garrison were no longer able to sustain the wants they labour'd under, and..many of the soldiers were compelled by hunger to desert.
1825 R. Southey Tale Paraguay (1827) ii. iv. 51 The weak body can no more sustain Its wants.
1868 Cincinnati Lancet & Observer Sept. 522 The blood could not reach the lungs in sufficient quantities to sustain the wants of the system.
1909 I. Osgood Women Workers in Milwaukee Tanneries ii. 1062 For the average working girl breakfast is usually a cup of coffee with some bread, and this with a cold, often scanty lunch, is not sufficient to sustain bodily wants under the strain of factory life.
1998 B. Couture Toward Phenomenological Rhetoric 217 Having found a perfect societal system to sustain our needs and wants, we have left little reason to pursue anything else.
3. † b. transitive. To give support to or back up (a person's conduct) or stand by (one's own actions or conduct); to support or uphold (a cause, a course of action). Obsolete.† d. transitive. With infinitive as object. To recommend (a course of action); to insist (that something be done). Obsolete.
a. transitive. To support the efforts or cause of; to give assistance to, back up; (in later use usually Military) to support (other troops).Support is the far more common alternative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [verb (transitive)]
lasteOE
i-hentc1225
uphold?c1225
upbeara1300
sustainc1300
understand13..
uplift1338
maintainc1350
supporta1393
underset1395
buttressc1400
supprise1447
bolster1508
stay1526
stay1526
undershore?a1534
underpropa1535
to hold up by the chin1546
back1548
suborn1548
suffult?c1550
upshore?1567
shoulder1577
upstay1600
underwrite1609
abone1622
crutch1641
float1823
backstop1956
c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 1507 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 149 Heo wolden him bi-leue and ne susteyni him non-more.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vi. 24 No man may serue to two lordis, forsothe ethir he shal haat the toon, and loue the tother; other he shal susteyn [L. sustinebit] the toon, and dispise the tothir.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 22102 Bethaida and corozaim, þir tua cites sal susten [Vesp. foster] him [sc. the Antichrist].
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 87 The wiff of the said Amon was not wise..to susteyne hym in his foly.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 111 That..ye..worship with all your power holy chirch, beyng her champyons, the same to susteyne & withstand ayenst alle her euyl wyllers.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. clxxxvii. 572 That was the duke of Bretaygne, who susteynd the traytour syr Peter of Craon.
a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 333 No man sould foster, succour or sustene no Douglasses withtin thair boundis.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. v. i. §6. 349 The Romans resolue to sustaine him, and put themselues in order.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 395 His Sons, who seek the Tyrant to sustain.
1711 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 143 They brought all the Grenadiers of their army, well sustain'd by a good body of other foot.
1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad i. 16 While Thebes secure our vain attempts withstands, By daily aids sustain'd from distant lands.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) To sustain is to aid, succour, or support, any body of men in action, or defence.
1896 Proc. Ann. Congr. National Prison Assoc. U.S. 1895 143 The warden is..properly sustained by a corps of officers abundantly large for the work.
1916 J. R. Bishop & T. T. Jones Story Gallic War 15 The cavalry was an uncertain factor in a battle, except as it was sustained by the infantry.
1967 T. T. Rice Everyday Life Byzantium v. 107 He and his immediate successors built the new force round a strong mobile corps of cavalrymen, sustained by a large infantry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [verb (transitive)] > support or stand by
sustainc1325
bear1535
to stand or fall1535
shoulder1577
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7354 Þo willam hurde þat he wolde susteini is tricherie.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 29275 Þam..þat sustens or þam-selfen makes Fals trout gain cristen state.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 1686 I wole right fayn with al my myght ben oon Haue god my trouþe here cause to susteyne.
a1450 (c1370) G. Chaucer Complaint unto Pity (Tanner) (1871) l. 111 And netheles yit my troth I shall susteen Vnto my deth.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. 154/2 He began to susteyn the feythe to whiche he had ben contrarye.
1559 D. Lindsay Test. Papyngo l. 682 in Wks. (1931) I. 76 Ȝe knawe the faith be ws mon be susteind.
1583 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (ed. 4) II. 2123/1 For we may in no wise betray the case of God, nor will not doe, but susteine it to the vttermost of our powers.
c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 281 Johne Knox minister requyrit the lordis to sustene ane book. quhairinto wes contenit that thaj suld ordane..xij superintendentis.
1673 J. Flavell Fountain of Life vii. 74 His [sc. Christ's] Death and sufferings..must respect others, whose persons and cause he sustained in that suffering capacity.
1752 E. Young Brothers iii. i I'll go; Sustain my part, and echo loud my wrongs.
1798 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 53/2 I call upon the Country..to sustain their cause, and that of Europe.
c. transitive. With that-clause as object. To support (a contention or argument); to maintain (that something is the case). Also occasionally with direct object and infinitive: †to maintain (something to be the case) (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > maintaining or upholding as true > maintain or uphold as true [verb (transitive)]
haveOE
werea1300
maintainc1350
confirmc1380
sustainc1430
defendc1475
to hold in hand1530
uphold1530
soothea1556
dispute1610
sticklea1661
to hold out1847
claim1864
c1430 (c1370) G. Chaucer A.B.C. (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1878) l. 22 As be ryȝt þey myȝtyn wel susteyne [c1450 Cambr. Ff.5.30 susteene] Þat I were worþy myn dampnacioun.
c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 57 The good knyght..scholde neithir sey ne sustene that alle wommen schulde be like to hire.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 196 How It may be sustenyt yat the king of ffraunce has na souerane.
a1500 (?1382) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 175 (MED) Þes freres..seyde..þat it is an erroure to susteyne þat dymes ben pure almes.
c1550 R. Bieston Bayte Fortune B ij With wordes thou wouldest susteine that no good dede is doen without thee.
a1609 A. Hume Poems (1902) 168 On the other part, otheris of you..sustene, that, among pastoris, thair sould be imparitie.
1646 B. Gerbier To All Men that loves Truth 14 Who impudently..did sustaine me to be the man who crost all the King of great Brittains affaires abroad.
1711 G. Mackenzie Lives Writers Sc. Nation II. 317 All the Doctors of Paris and France did then, and do yet sustain, That the Power of the Pope is subject to that of the Council.
1751 J. Shebbeare Lett. on Eng. Nation I. p. l He sustained, that nothing had in it so little reason, as that pretension of the Deists to govern mankind by reason.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 8 Sept. 3/1 What patriotic Englishman can for a moment sustain that [etc.]?
1984 L. G. Cochrane tr. P. Rossi Dark Abyss of Time (1987) xvii. 126 He sustained that the Egyptians were an older people than the Jews.
1998 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Serendipities 48 Hillel sustained that such a child would naturally speak Hebrew.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > advice > advise [verb (transitive)] > advocate (a course of action, etc.)
redeOE
enhort1382
counsel1393
admonishc1405
sustain?c1450
exhortc1500
persuadea1513
urge1596
advise1597
unwarn1612
paraenesize1716
recommend1734
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist in [verb (transitive)] > insist upon
pressa1382
sustain?c1450
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 17 Ther was moche speche whiche he shulde take, mani folke susteninge to take the elder [daughter].
4.
a. transitive. To advocate or support as valid, correct, or true; to uphold or affirm the justice or validity of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)] > support, corroborate
fasteneOE
i-sothea925
sustainc1325
witness1362
approvec1380
confirmc1384
affirma1393
justifya1393
to bear outa1475
corrobore1485
uphold1485
nourisha1522
underpinc1522
to countenance outa1529
favoura1530
soothe1544
strengthen1548
comfort1593
second1596
accredit1598
evidencea1601
warrantise1600
compact1608
back1612
thickena1616
accreditate1654
shoulder1674
support1691
corroborate1706
carry1835
to give (also lend) colour1921
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 10204 (MED) Þe bissop of londone, of eli, of roucestre..Of þis mansinge were principals & susteinede it vaste.
1415 T. Hoccleve Addr. to Sir John Oldcastle l. 183 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 14 Fro Cryst þat right first greew, & if þat we Nat shuln susteene it, we been ful vnwyse.
1425 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Apr. 1425 §12. m. 4 Such possession hadde ayenst title of ryght..ought not to be sustened ne affermed.
?a1475 (?a1425) in tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1882) VIII. App. 444 Maister Iohn Wyclef..began to sustene openly..conclusions of heresy.
a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 72 Be this maner may be sustenit the conclusioune, and the argument folȝeit.
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 568/2 Thus I doo certifye you of all the opinions and conclusions whiche I entende, or haue entended to sustaine.
?1590–1 J. Burel tr. Pamphilus in Poems sig. F4v Gif ony man wald..agains me argument sustene, Than lat him speik.
1616 J. Haig in J. Russell Haigs of Bemersyde (1881) vi. 139 I was no scholar to sustain ane argument against him, but thus ways leaves him.
1689 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1875) XII. 47/2 The objectione þerafter putt to the vote and sustained to reject the Commissione be 24 votes.
1754 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 60 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 [They] sustained and hereby sustain the claim and fand and hereby find that she is a just and lawful creditor.
1793 Ld. Eskgrove in J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Sir W. Scott (1837) I. vii. 215 Sustain the Sheriff's judgment, and decern.
1807 Ld. Eldon in F. Vesey Reports (1827) XIII. 601 The trustee, having..proved, that he had removed himself from the character of trustee, his purchase may be sustained.
1855 Poultry Chron. 3 412 If an objection be made to any entry as being a false one, and such objection be sustained within ten days.
1890 Amer. Naturalist 24 471 To sustain the view that the tetraselenodont forms are the descendants of the pentaselenodont Artiodactyla.
1956 E. S. Gardner Case of Demure Defendant 130 Judge Ashurst thought for a minute, then he said, ‘the objection is sustained’.
1991 R. Reiner Chief Constables iv. xi. 293 They are convinced that independent investigators would be less successful at sustaining allegations.
b. transitive. To provide an adequate ground or basis for (an argument, assertion, etc.); to bear out, substantiate, confirm. Cf. support v. 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)] > be or give evidence of
to show forth?c1225
witnessa1300
sustain?c1425
testify1445
showa1500
manifest?a1513
make1573
argue1585
evidence1610
attesta1616
citea1616
evince1621
to speak to ——1624
?c1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr. Ii.3.21) (1886) v. pr. iv. 126 The proeue of this ysustenyd [L. subnixam] by stydefast reson ne shal nat ben lad ne proeued by sygnes.
1655 J. Sergeant Schism Dis-arm'd 282 The first Proposition can onely be sustained by making this shameless assertion good, that no man can cast another out of the Church.
1712 R. Blackmore Creation iii. 154 Th'Eternal Mind's Existence we sustain By Proofs so full, by Evidence so plain, That none of all the Sciences have shown, Such Demonstration of the Truths they own.
1793 W. Godwin Enq. Polit. Justice I. iv. ix. 406 An hypothesis, that is in direct opposition to so many apparent facts, must have a very uncommon portion of evidence to sustain it.
1801 D. Call Rep. Court of Appeals Virginia 1 381 The exception made in Court was not sustained by any evidence.
1866 J. R. Seeley Ecce Homo (ed. 8) v. 40 We go beyond what the evidence is able to sustain.
1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 361 This passage undoubtedly sustains Mr. Grote's assertion.
1933 Elem. School Jrnl. 34 170 The evidence will not sustain a finding that food furnished at the school cafeteria did not conform to proper standards.
1960 D. C. Braungart & R. Buddeke Introd. Animal Biol. (ed. 5) xxi. 367 Some of its enthusiastic proponents making claims that the facts do not sustain.
2010 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch (Nexis) 10 Dec. a12 There is significant data to sustain the conclusion that the administration of the death penalty..reflects a pervasive pattern of systematic racial discrimination.
c. transitive. To present and defend (one's thesis or dissertation).Frequently with reference to a university in a non-English-speaking country.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > take degree [verb (intransitive)] > present or petition for degree
supplicate1691
sustain1756
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > take degree [verb (transitive)] > present or petition for degree
supplicate1601
present1661
sustain1838
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters ii. 67 In the Thesis which I sustained for the degrees in physic at Leyden.
1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 452/1 On taking, in 1777, the degree of D.D., he sustained a critical dissertation entitled ‘Curæ in historiam textus Græci Epistolarum Paulinarum specimen’.
1881 Littell's Living Age Nov. 269/1 This degree was granted..to strangers only if they could pass a satisfactory examination, ‘sustain their thesis’, and give proofs of sufficient learning.
1904 Pop. Astron. 12 174 On December 23, 1893, Miss Klumpke sustained her doctorate thesis before Darbonx Jesse and Andoyer.
1992 K. Bediako Theol. & Identity (1999) ix. 351 Two years before the appearance of Des Prêtres noirs s'interrogent, Mulago had successfully sustained his doctoral thesis in theology.
5. † b. transitive. To maintain (something) in use; to continue to use, exercise, occupy, etc. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To maintain or continue with (an action or process); to keep up without intermission; (esp. in early use) spec. to continue or carry on with (a battle, quarrel, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue (an action) [verb (transitive)]
i-haldOE
to hold fortha1325
sustainc1325
containc1330
continuea1340
maintainc1385
carrya1393
keepc1425
to keep upa1535
to stick by ——1551
to hold on1568
to hold out1595
to carry on1609
subsist1633
to keep at ——1825
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 10247 (MED) Vor gret raunson he esste of hom to helpe him spene Vor defendi is lond & is worre to soustene.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 9926 Four geauntes..Þat sustend þat bataile.
?1403 in T. F. Simmons Lay Folks Mass Bk. (1879) 65 Any other anourment whare-wit godes seruys es sustend.
c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) l. 771 (MED) Vertu sensityf..hir quarel doth sustene Ageyns hir [sc. Reason] ful Rigorously.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 1093 Whyle these pety-capteynes susteynyd thus the feelde.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 130 To turne to trew luve his intent And still the quarrell to sustene.
1544 P. Betham tr. J. di Porcia Preceptes Warre i. lxxvii. sig. E ij Men refreshed wyth hote meates, bene hable to susteyne battayle an whole daye.
1553 T. Paynell tr. Dares Faythfull & True Storye Destr. Troye sig. Fij Aiax Thelamonius valiantly sustained ye thinge vntill the night departed ye battel.
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah xi. 240 Let vs come vnto the third thing..that is the grieuous conflict which Ionas here sustained.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 13 Menalcas shall sustain his under Song.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 113 Their perseverance is beyond what any other nation is capable of sustaining.
1774 O. Goldsmith Grecian Hist. I. viii. 292 At last the Athenian fleet, after sustaining a long battle,..was put to flight.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality vii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 145 He felt no sort of desire..to sustain a correspondence which must be perilous.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. iv. v. 205 It was the severest conflict which the English had yet sustained with an Indian army.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. iv. 96 The fire is lighted by a piece of brown paper and a little small coal, and is sustained..with coke and small coal.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xxx. 303 The conversation was almost entirely sustained by Mrs. Skewton.
1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. iii. 71 By the Indian's side, and evidently sustaining a companionship with him.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 39 The arts by which he sustains the reader's interest.
1959 F. Astaire Steps in Time (1960) xii. 134 He wanted us to continue doing the last step, which started center stage, and sustain it as we traveled to the side.
1987 Punch 28 Oct. 66/2 I did my best to sustain the dialogue and asked what he was going to do.
2004 S. Greenberg Wrestling with God & Men (rev. ed.) vii. 115 These two Spanish poets sustained a lifelong friendship.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue (an action) [verb (transitive)] > continue a use or practice
keepc1315
entertain?c1452
retain1481
to summer and winter1602
sustain1602
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. vi. sig. I If you thinke Gods but fain'd, and Vertue painted, Know, we sustaine an actuall residence. View more context for this quotation
1613 G. Chapman Reuenge Bussy D'Ambois iii. sig. F2v Since I see You still sustaine a iealous eye on mee.
1623 J. Heminges & H. Condell in W. Shakespeare Comedies, Hist. & Trag. Ep. Ded. sig. A2 When we valew the places your H. H. sustaine.
6.
a. transitive. To support physically; to hold up, keep from falling or breaking; to bear the weight of; (in later use frequently Aeronautics) to provide sustentation to (an aircraft). Also sometimes: to carry, bear. Formerly also with up.figurative in quots. a13932 and 1620.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)]
to bear upeOE
underbearc950
bearOE
holdc1000
weighc1200
to hold up1297
upholda1300
sustainc1330
undersetc1330
comforta1382
underbear1382
upbear1390
sustaina1398
upkeepc1412
carrya1425
supporta1425
chargea1500
convey1514
avoke1529
confirm1542
stay1548
to carry up1570
bolster1581
lift1590
upstay1590
atlas1593
sustent1605
statuminatea1628
firm1646
appui1656
establish1664
shoulder1674
to keep up1681
upheave1729
withhold1769
c1330 Roland & Vernagu (Auch.) (1882) l. 338 (MED) Mahoun..dede mani fendes þer in..For to susten þe ymage, & sett him on heiȝe stage.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 704 (MED) Therthe, whos condicion Is set to be the foundement To sustiene up the firmament.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 1539 Pes sustiened up alofte With esy wordes and with softe, Wher strengthe scholde lete it falle.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 944 Gawayne..lepe up behynde hym to sustayne hym.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. xvii. sig. g. 7 The quyck syluer is of suche nature..that it susteyneth a stone vpon it.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 197 (MED) Two men Sustenyd the handis of Moyses, into the tyme that amalech was ouercome.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. x. sig. Y2 Next whom Morindus did the crowne sustayne.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. ii. sig. C2v In time the sauage Bull sustaines the yoake.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. xi. 45 Well then, sustaine me: Oh.
1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 66 The Adiunct receiued of the Subiect by inherence is infixed, infused, ingrafted, sustained of the subiect.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 104 To harrow Furrows, and sustain the Plough. View more context for this quotation
1748 E. Moore Trial Selim 3 Her Left-hand, clench'd, her Cheek sustain'd.
1759 A. M. Toplady Poems (1860) 96 Each a Palm sustain'd In his victorious Hand.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. i. 21 Here again she looked round for a seat to sustain her.
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous ii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. IV. 57 He found the minstrel seated at a small table, sustaining before him a manuscript.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic x. 253 The difficulty..really consists in sustaining the anvil.
1850 A. Jameson Legends Monastic Orders 411 Sustained in the arms of two sisters of her Order.
1906 Sci. Amer. 18 Aug. 115/3 ‘Aéronef’..means an apparatus heavier than air, of which there are several kinds, such as..(3) L'Orthoptère (orthopter) or mechanical bird, i.e., an aéronef sustained and propelled by beating wings.
1920 J. Conrad Rescue iv. 220 Mrs. Travers slept sustained by his arm, pressed to his side.
2008 J. J. DeBlanc Guadalcanal Air War i. v. 25 This difference in pressure furnishes sufficient lift to sustain an airplane in flight.
b. transitive. To hold in position, esp. to hold (the body or a part of it) upright or in the correct position. Now usually reflexive (see sense 6c(a)).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)]
to bear upeOE
underbearc950
bearOE
holdc1000
weighc1200
to hold up1297
upholda1300
sustainc1330
undersetc1330
comforta1382
underbear1382
upbear1390
sustaina1398
upkeepc1412
carrya1425
supporta1425
chargea1500
convey1514
avoke1529
confirm1542
stay1548
to carry up1570
bolster1581
lift1590
upstay1590
atlas1593
sustent1605
statuminatea1628
firm1646
appui1656
establish1664
shoulder1674
to keep up1681
upheave1729
withhold1769
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. xxv. 217 The necke..bereþ and susteyneþ þe heed.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 33 By cause they [sc. the feet] by theyr labur susteyne & support the rest of the body.
1599 A. Hume Hymnes sig. B4v The feit ar swift and members meit, for to susteine the rest.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) iv. vii. 165 If all eight [muscles] act, they hold the Back straight, and do as it were sustain a man.
1698 W. Cowper Anat. Humane Bodies sig. Q The Muscles imploy'd in Extending the Head, Neck, Back and Loins should be framed strong enough..to sustain the Head and Trunk in their Projection forewards from the Axis of the Vertebrae.
1776 J. Innes Short Descr. Human Muscles xxx. 197 A tendon,..which..is Inserted into the root of the metatarsal bone that sustains the little toe, and is called by Albinus peronæus tertius.
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 147 Foot step, or Footstep Bearing, a bearing closed at its bottom end, to sustain the end thrust of a vertical shaft or spindle. It is, therefore, a bearing socket, called also a step, and toe step.
c. To hold oneself upright, remain standing; (also of something inanimate) to be or stay in a fixed position.† (b) intransitive. Obsolete (rare after Middle English).
(a) transitive (reflexive). In later use only with complement, as erect, upright.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > upright or erect posture > assume upright or erect position [verb (reflexive)]
stretchc1325
to pull upa1393
sustainc1405
address1483
to draw up1751
the world > movement > absence of movement > not move [verb (reflexive)] > remain in a place
sustaina1616
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 153 For verray fere so wolde hir herte quake That on hir feet she myghte hir noght sustene.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 267 Behold, I haue a weapon, A better neuer did it selfe sustaine Vpon a Souldiers thigh. View more context for this quotation
1752 W. Goodall Adventures Capt. Greenland III. vii. x. 87 I could scarcely sustain myself upright in the Hampers.
1832 Friend 7 Dec. 68/1 These, when they can no longer sustain themselves erect, are supported by small poles planted beside them.
1894 M. L. Pool Out of Step 93 She placed her hands on the foot-board..as if she were resolved to sustain herself upright unaided.
1905 A. K. Green Millionaire Baby xix. 271 She seemed to sustain herself erect only by a powerful effort.
2007 A. Schmidt & A. Camacho de Schmidt tr. A. Ulloa Bornemann Surviving Mexico's Dirty War 134 I barely sustained myself upright.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > assume or hold a posture [verb (intransitive)]
sustainc1425
fitchew1657
posture?1790
pose1850
the world > space > relative position > posture > upright or erect posture > be in upright or erect position [verb (intransitive)]
standOE
to stable upa1300
sustainc1425
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of standing up or rising > rise or be standing [verb (intransitive)] > be standing
i-standOE
standOE
sustainc1425
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. l. 1424 (MED) Dephebus..wounded hym euene amyd þe face..On hors-bak he myȝt nat sustene.
a1450 (c1375) G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite (Tanner 346) (1878) l. 177 She ne hath fote on whiche she may sustene.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xx. 354 He myght no lenger sustene on his feet for the traueile.
1728 R. Morris Ess. Anc. Archit. 35 The Solidity becomes of less Power to sustain in Proportion to its Height.
d. transitive. Of a structure, esp. in a building: to be the base or support of; to bear the weight of from below; to have resting upon it.
ΚΠ
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1135 For to make it strong Euery piler the temple to sustene.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xxiv. 505 A forke that susteyned vp their lodges, that was grete & stronge.
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man i. f. 16 As a ground worke, or stabiliment to susteyne the whole worke.
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. Aa4 Two exceeding great Lyons in red marble, that sustaine two goodly pillars.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1654 (1955) III. 109 The..Columne that spreads its Capitel to sustaine the roofe.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis x, in tr. Virgil Wks. 533 A Bough his Brazen Helmet did sustain.
1717 M. Prior Alma ii. 277 The swelling Hoop sustains The rich Brocard.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 544 Her head..Indebted to some smart wig-weaver's hand For more than half the tresses it sustains.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 305 The bier was so placed, as to leave the view of the body it sustained open [etc.].
1856 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) x. 365 The Galilean hills..contain or sustain green basins of table-land just below their topmost ridges.
1882 Cent. Mag. July 473/2 Hoop-iron or tin ties are sometimes used to sustain the partitions, but the mitered joint is better.
1933 R. E. Galbraith These our Moderns 172 Wright envisaged not only a stately but a flexible pleasure dome..the weight of its floors sustained not by the walls at all but by centered supports.
2010 K. Thomson Once Spy xiii. 113 Fluted columns sustained a high ceiling.
e. transitive. To bear, withstand (a weight or pressure). Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)] > a weight or pressure (of so much)
bearOE
sustainc1405
support1578
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Prioress's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 31 My konnyng is so wayk..That I ne may the weighte nat sustene.
1496 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle in Bk. St. Albans (rev. ed.) sig. hv Kepe hym [sc. the fish] euer vnder the rodde..soo that your lyne may susteyne and beere his lepys and his plungys.
1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 24v So in a modulate and well composed building, to sustaine great weights, Naues are appointed.
1608 T. Hudson tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Ivdith ii. 28 in J. Sylvester Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) Yet like the valiant Palme they did sustaine Their peisant weight, redressing vp againe.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 54 Lest the Stem..Shou'd scarce sustain the head's unweildy weight. View more context for this quotation
1719 F. Hauksbee Physico-mech. Exper. v. 116 As reasonable, as that a greater Power should sustain a greater Pondus.
1796 S. Vince Princ. Hydrostat. ii. 27 The same pressure must sustain the same weight.
1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. ix. 372 This external pressure has nothing substantial to sustain it from within.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxx. 404 When the pressure applied becomes too great for the glass to sustain, it flies to pieces.
1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse iii. iii. 235 She could not sustain this enormous weight of sorrow.
1942 Mariner's Mirror 28 12 It [sc. the main mast] is stepped nearly amidships with a great rake forward to enable it to sustain the weight of the heavily yarded sail at the right spot.
2001 J. Le Fanu They don't know what's Wrong xii. 191 The legs and feet are a biomechanical marvel, both sustaining the weight of the human frame while providing forward propulsion.
f. transitive. figurative. To bear (a burden or charge, esp. a cost).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > [verb (transitive)] > have (a duty)
haveeOE
sustain?1406
suppose1614
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > pay (a claim, dues, or charge)
doOE
bearOE
payc1300
content1433
answer1471
recontenta1525
sustain1530
even1619
settle1688
foot1819
?1406 T. Hoccleve La Mâle Règle l. 362 in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 65/1 Thy rentes annuel, as thow wel woost To scarse been greet costes to susteene And in thy cofre pardee is cold roost.
1433 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. July 1433 §19. m. 15 Þe charges þat he most bere and susteigne.
1530 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 89 The Towne susteyneth nott one peny of the sayd charges.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. ii. iv. 142 He was sa fer rvn in age, þat he mycht nocht sustene þe charge of þe consulate.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 135 Neither could the king of Spaine sustaine the burden of so many warres.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxiv. 129 That such portion [in the distribution of land] be made sufficient, to susteine the whole expence to the common Peace.
1738 J. Wesley Hymns lxxiii. iv The Burthen for me to sustain Too great, on Thee, my Lord, was laid.
1795 Z. Swift Syst. Laws Connecticut I. 119 Such inhabitant, or such other person, shall support and sustain the whole expense.
1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike (new ed.) ix. 106 It has enabled us to sustain burdens which would have crushed any other people.
1898 Q. Texas Hist. Assoc. Jan. 211 These grants..will make it impossible for the company to sustain the expense which it must bear to keep the post of Detroit.
1922 Rotarian May 228 He was..financially well-enough upholstered to sustain without chafing any burden a family might impose upon him.
1998 China Rev. iii. 75 Collective security is analogous to a collective health insurance, obviously far better than sustaining health expenses on one's own.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > be able to [verb (intransitive)]
sufficea1325
sustaina1382
awelda1387
mayc1395
dowa1400
shape1487
afford1584
to have it in him (also her, etc.)c1600
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) 1 Esdras x. 13 For þe puple ys myche & tyme of reyn & wee susteynyn [L. sustinemus] not to stonden withouteforþ.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. l. 91 To stonde upriht he myhte nat susteene.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. xv. sig. d. 4v No bodyly man, may not susteyne for to see hym [sc. an angel] in no manere.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) 95 The syght of the aungell Gabryell..was so bryght that thou mightest not susteyne to stonde on thi feete.
8. transitive. To keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from failing or giving way; to strengthen the spirits or resolution of; to give encouragement or psychological support to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)]
shoveOE
to hold with (arch. of, on, for)1154
favour1362
abetc1380
sustainc1390
supportc1405
courage1470
comfort1481
friend1550
through-bear1554
countenance1568
foster1569
favourize1585
seconda1586
sidea1601
rally1624
feed1626
countenance1654
encourage1668
inserve1683
to go strong on1822
partake1861
sponsor1884
to hold a brief for1888
root1889
rah-rah1940
affirm1970
babysit1973
barrack-
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > preserve from injury or destruction [verb (transitive)] > preserve in existence or maintain
at-holdc1220
to hold upc1290
maintaina1325
sustainc1390
sustent?a1425
preserve1427
sustentate1542
c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 246 (MED) Þat sacrament reconsileþ him ay, Susteyneþ him, þat he ne falle may.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 62 I pray to god in honour hire sustene.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 1749 All þe gracious godis & gudnes..Þat..sustaynes þe erth.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms iii. 6 I layed me downe and slepte, but I rose vp agayne, for the Lorde susteyned me.
a1626 W. Rowley Birth of Merlin (1662) sig. A4 That hope alone sustains me.
1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fourth 24 He tunes My Voice (if tun'd;) the Nerve, that writes, sustains.
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott III. x. 334 [He] who, more perhaps than any other master of the pen, had contributed to sustain the spirit of England throughout the struggle.
1843 W. Wordsworth Grace Darling 49 Inwardly sustained by silent prayer.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 79 Tho' Averill wrote And bad him with good heart sustain himself.
1919 P. G. Wodehouse Their Mutual Child ii. xiii. 258 The excitement which had sustained him till now had begun to ebb.
1957 W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-speaking Peoples III. i They were sustained by the loyalty and spirit of the nation.
2000 P. Thompson Voice of Past (ed. 3) vi. 205 This personal testimony..sustained them through the long period of working together as a group.
9.
a. transitive. To maintain (a sound, esp. a musical note) at the same pitch or volume, esp. for a prolonged period.
ΚΠ
1489 W. Caxton De Roye's Doctrinal of Sapyence cxxxiiii. sig. Fii Some of the yong monkes susteined theyr note & point in suche wyse that the olde men were still.
1676 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges Acct. Voy. Athens 309 The Brass Vessels being disposed Mathematically, and at a distance that agreed exactly with the intervals and modulation of the Musick, every Note was sustained and reinforced by repercussion from those Vessels.
1776 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music I. 66 Euclid tells us..that sounds may be sustained in the same tone, which we call a holding note.
1861 T. L. Peacock Gryll Grange xiv. 110 The pianoforte is not much to my mind... Its incapability of sustaining a note has led..to those infinitesimal subdivisions of sound, in which all sentiment and expression are twittered and frittered into nothingness.
1883 G. Grove Dict. Music III. 638/1 Comical..effects might be got by sustaining such sounds as ‘z-z’..‘r-r’..or ‘ü’.
1953 K. Amis Lucky Jim iv. 36 She played a slow arpeggio, sustaining it with the pedal.
1985 I. Gitler Swing to Bop (1987) vii. 251 The leader liked the tuba to sustain chords while the arranger wanted to use it to play moving, jazz parts.
2002 Total Guitar Mar. 94/2 An E-bow to sustain notes indefinitely.
b. intransitive. Of a musical note, chord, etc.: to continue at the same pitch or volume, esp. for a specified period. Also: (of a musical instrument) to produce such a note or notes.
ΚΠ
1892 Musical News July 18/1 From the absence of further notes or rests, the eye sees at a glance that the note sustains through the measure.
1958 Musical Times 99 605/2 Anyone who has played a harpsichord..knows that so long as the key is held down, the note sustains for a considerable time.
1974 B. Turetzky Contemp. Contrabass vii. 91 With the incorporation of this circuit any plucked or bowed note will sustain at a present level.
1987 H. Casabona & D. Frederick Using Midi ii. 26 Play a chord on the master and hit the sustain footswitch. Then, while that chord sustains, both hands are free to play a lead on the slave, which won't sustain.
2001 New Yorker 20 Aug. 82/2 A tone that seems to hang in the air indicates a piano with an ability to sustain, a quality that is prized by Steinway.
10.
a. transitive. To play the part of; to keep up (an assumed role) competently; to represent (a dramatic part or character) convincingly. Frequently with person in early use: cf. person n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > follow (a course of behaviour) [verb (transitive)] > assume (behaviour or a part)
ontakec1300
playa1425
to take up?c1425
make1559
sustain1560
support1693
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (transitive)] > a part or character
playc1390
enact1430
representc1475
perform1598
personate1598
present1598
do1600
to bring (a person) on or to the stage1602
stage1602
support1693
impersonate1715
sustain1731
be1814
portray1875
fake1876
inact1900
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cvij Where as they susteyne the persones of intercessours.
1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 9 The good Housekeeper then, ought principally to haue care in choosing of his Wife, with whom hee must sustaine the personne of a Husbande.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 116 Thay susteine the persone of honest sitizenis.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. App. 198 Christ our Saviour, who although he were the King of Kings, yet because he then sustained a private person, he payed tribute willingly.
1731 A. Hill in Sotheran's Catal. No. 12. (1899) 26 I am at a loss, how those characters will be sustain'd wch they were to have represented.
1782 W. Cowper Parrot 35 Each character in ev'ry part Sustain'd with so much grace and art.
1850 Knickerbocker Mar. 281 Mr. Gibson was determined to sustain the part of the laughing philosopher.
1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 88/1 It was in that very opera, The Siege of Rhodes, that Mrs. Colman, daughter-in-law of one of the composers, sustained the character of Ianthe.
1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake 49 He may have been the utility man of the troupe capable of sustaining long parts at short notice.
1975 U.S. News & World Rep. 3 Mar. 39/2 Students of geopolitics assert that the U.S. has a near-perfect combination to sustain such a role.
1983 Financial Times 16 Feb. 13/4 The solid-voiced baritone Roland Herrmann sustained the killing role of Creon with burly resilience.
2005 D. F. Thompson Restoring Responsibility ii. 42 We can hardly expect advisers on issues with even more economic and political content to sustain the role of Hobbesian analyst.
b. transitive. To hold or be invested with (a title); to fulfil or discharge the functions and responsibilities associated with (a position).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (transitive)] > an office or function
takec1350
execute1387
servea1450
acquitc1460
supply?a1475
discharge1542
undergo1609
fungify1650
sustain1700
the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > have or bear (name)
beara1225
weara1586
carry1601
undergo1605
sustain1700
1700 J. Wallis in C. R. L. Fletcher Collectanea (1885) I. 325 He must learn it before he comes there, or after he is gone, or from some other dancing-master; not from him that in the acádemie, sustains that title.
1747 P. Mascarene Let. 23 June in Acadian Geneal. & Notes (Sessional Paper No. 18) App. C 46 in Rep. Canad. Arch. 1905 (1906) II. I have been oblig'd to sustain the Post of President over this Province.
1798 Monthly Visitor June 111 He sustained the title of Commodore.
1833 P. Allwood Diss. conc. Chronol. Numbers 54 The Turkish Empire, whose head still sustains the title of ‘Chalif of the faithful’.
1842 Knickerbocker Jan. 12 In Belgium he sustains the title of Prince of Waterloo.
1927 A. Adams Ranch on Beaver xvi. 220 A typical Texas ranch,..around which was an acreage and herd sufficient to sustain easily the title of cattle baron.
1997 T. N. Gilmore in Developing Organisational Consultancy ii. 35 This has the assumption that someone on a podium can sustain the title of expert.
II. To endure, suffer.† 13.
11. † b. intransitive. To endure or hold out in the face of adversity; to bear up. Also occasionally transitive with it in the same sense. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To endure (something painful, difficult, or unpleasant) without failing or giving way; to bear, withstand. Also with infinitive as object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (transitive)] > resist > maintain resistance against
to stand before ——OE
bearOE
tholec1175
sustainc1330
last1340
suffera1387
support1483
outstand1571
hold1592
to hold outa1616
ridea1649
brunt1800
to stand up to1921
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 7152 And he bihinde to ben bi cas To susten þe paiems ras.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xiii. 7 Charite..hopith alle thingis, it susteyneth [L. sustinet] alle thingis.
?c1450 (?c1390) G. Chaucer Merciles Beaute (Pepys 2006) (1886) l. 2 Yowre two yen woll sle me sodenly I may the beaute of them not sustene.
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) i. ii. 12 The euyll lyf..of the kynge is the lyf of a cruell beste and ought not longe to be susteyned.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iii. vi. l. 201 How thou may al lauborus payn sustene.
1571 R. Reynolds Chron. Noble Emperours f. 6 Caesar being accustomed to commaunde, could not sustaine to be without an hoste.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 125 Asses..able to susteyne blowes, labour, hunger, and thyrst.
?1614 W. Drummond Song: It Autumne was in Poems Her Eyes such Beames sent foorth, that but with Paine Here weaker Sights their sparckling could sustaine.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 209 This is now Our doom; which if we can sustain and bear, Our Supream Foe in time may much remit His anger. View more context for this quotation
1710 D. Manley Mem. Europe II. 239 Nothing but Death can make that Man desist, who sustains almost its Pangs without a surcease of Diligence.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker III. 7 It is incapable of sustaining a siege carried on according to the modern operations of war.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. iv. viii. 281 He sustained the attack, which, for the space of an hour was vigorously maintained.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 290 Scarce one [of the cities] was now capable of sustaining a siege.
1851 K. H. Digby tr. Agathon in Compitum V. vii. 146 I could not sustain to be called a heretic.
1889 A. R. Wallace Darwinism (1890) 17 Each species [of plant] can sustain a certain amount of heat and cold.
1926 Glasgow Herald 14 June 10 According to an unconfirmed legend Lubeck has the proud distinction of being the only city which sustained a siege on marzipan.
1989 A. Stevenson Bitter Fame xi. 243 Sylvia's inability to sustain too much sociability.
1990 Amer. Scholar 69 168/1 Depression is not a condition I have ever been able to sustain for very long.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > be constant or steadfast [verb (intransitive)] > endure without giving way
bearOE
sustaina1382
dreec1400
to bear, hold tack1580
to stick out1677
to tough it (out)1830
to keep (carry, have) a stiff upper lip1837
to take it (or life) on the chin1928
to hang in1969
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > adhere constantly or steadfastly to [verb (transitive)] > endure without giving way
tholec1175
suffera1387
outbear1530
to fight out1548
sustain1573
stand1575
hold1592
to stand out1600
to bide out1637
to stand for ——1896
tough1974
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. lxiv. 3 Whan thou shalt do merueiles, wee shuln not sustene [L. sustinebimus].
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms cxxix. 3 If wickidnessis thou shalt al aboute kepe, Lord; Lord, who shal sustene [L. sustinebit].
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. l. 534 (MED) Her hertis tendre myȝt nat sustene.
c1460 Troyyes Bk. Chapter Headings (Royal 18 D.ii) 623 The Troyans and þe Grekes resumede the felde, in þe which the Grekis might not susteyne against þe swerde of Troylus.
1546 T. Langley tr. P. Vergil Abridgem. Notable Worke i. iii. 5 Other that suppose this worlde had both an originall cause of being, and shall also sustein and ende by putrifaccion.
1573 J. Davidson Breif Commendatioun Vprichtnes xli. 139 In deid that ȝe suld not susteind [= sustain it] He thunderit threitnings to the air.
1598 G. Chapman tr. Homer Seauen Bks. Iliades ii. 287 Sustaine a little then my friendes, that we the trueth may trie: Of reuerend Chalchas prophesy.
c. transitive. To withstand (criticism, scrutiny, etc.); (also) to bear (comparison) with some other example.
ΚΠ
1779 W. Burgh Scriptural Confut. Arguments against One Godhead 225 Why then should I not have..rendered it better able to sustain their criticism?
1790 E. Gibbon Misc. Wks. (1814) III. 502 Their opinion will not sustain the rigour of critical enquiry.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xii. 142 The Cathedral..ill qualified to sustain a comparison with the awful temples of the middle ages.
1898 Archaeol. Jrnl. 55 254 This pavement may sustain comparison with the work of Monnus at Trèves.
1922 I. Goldberg Drama of Transition 416 This rustic Comedy of Errors..well sustains comparison with the plays from the Irish company.
1990 J. Masson Final Anal. Epilogue 207 No religion..could sustain prolonged critical scrutiny if one was not satisfied with reading secondary and tertiary texts.
12.
a. transitive. To undergo, suffer, or have to submit to (something unpleasant or harmful, as loss, hardship, damage, etc.); (now) esp. to suffer (a physical injury).In early use with a variety of objects denoting a wide range of unpleasant or harmful agents and circumstances. From the 19th cent., the range becomes increasingly restricted to certain established objects, esp. loss and damage (e.g. quots. 1901, 2000). Over the same period, examples relating to physical injuries (e.g. quots. 1880, 1974) become the most common use. N.E.D. (1918) describes this development as ‘in mod[ern] journalistic use’.In quot. 1559 with infinitive as object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > suffer (adversity or affliction) [verb (transitive)]
thave835
i-dreeeOE
tholec897
abeareOE
underbearc950
adreeOE
dreeOE
driveOE
i-tholeOE
throwOE
underfoc1000
bearOE
bidec1200
suffera1250
abidec1275
drinka1340
endure1340
underfong1382
receivec1384
abyea1393
sustain1398
finda1400
undergoa1400
get?c1430
underganga1470
ponder?a1525
a dog's lifea1528
tolerate1531
to stand to ——1540
to feel the weight of?1553
enjoy1577
carry1583
abrook1594
to stand under ——a1616
to fall a victim to1764
the mind > emotion > suffering > suffer mental pain [verb (transitive)]
thave835
i-dreeeOE
tholec897
underbearc950
adreeOE
dreeOE
driveOE
i-tholeOE
throwOE
underfoc1000
bearOE
takec1175
bidec1200
suffera1250
leadc1330
drinka1340
endure1340
wielda1375
underfong1382
receivec1384
sustain1398
finda1400
undergoa1400
underganga1470
ponder?a1525
tolerate1531
to go through ——1535
to feel the weight of?1553
enjoy1577
carry1583
abrook1594
1398 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 38 To deliuer the said prisoners frely and assith thaim of the harmis that thai haue sustenit in deffaut of thair deliuerance.
1398 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 37 Qwil thai be assithit als wele of thaire costis and thaire scathis as of the principale dett giff thai haff ony sustenyt.
1428 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 10 After ye grete losses yat I have had and sustened.
c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) l. 3570 (MED) Iason..Fortunyd was for to sustene Al the pereils oon by oon.
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xxvi. sig. Mviv The most noble emperour Octauius Augustus,..only for playing at dise, & that but seldome, sustaineth in histories a note of reproche.
1556 R. Robinson tr. T. More Utopia (ed. 2) sig. Fiv Them, whyche..substeyne [1551 susteyne] losse and dammage.
1559 J. Aylmer Harborowe sig. N2v Was it no wronge..that she susteyned..to be first a prysoner..and garded with a sorte of cutthrotes?
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. ii. 6 In which time they susteined many and great tempests.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. v. 168 Good Beauties, let mee sustaine no scorne. View more context for this quotation
1653 R. Saunders Treat. Moles Body Man & Woman 13 in Physiognomie She shall sustain thefts, and suffer by fugitive servants.
a1665 K. Digby Jrnl. Voy. to Mediterranean (1868) 3 If either should chance to breake or spring mast or yarde or sustayne any leake or other damage.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 232 The Loss my husband has sustain'd had reduc'd his Circumstances so low.
1771 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. IV. 163 He died of a gangrene, occasioned by the bruises which he had sustained.
1825 W. Scott Betrothed xiii, in Tales Crusaders I. 229 Recollecting the loss she had so lately sustained on that luckless spot.
1833 H. Martineau Three Ages ii. 46 His Majesty had sustained a signal defeat abroad.
1880 Troy (U.S.) Daily Times 28 Aug. [He] fell from a pile of lumber yesterday afternoon and sustained a broken arm.
1901 Engin. Mag. 21 446/2 The rigid frame, with its outer covering of silk and waterproof stuff, makes it very hard to land without sustaining some damage.
1939 J. B. Morton Bonfire of Weeds iii. 97 [He] seeks to recover damages for an injury to his wrist, sustained when he fell from a ladder.
1974 B. Emecheta Second Class Citizen xiii. 171 She had not sustained many injuries apart from a broken finger and swollen lips.
2000 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. b1/5 Like many business-to-customer Internet companies, [it] has sustained significant losses.
2007 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 11 Dec. 93 Promising batsman Andy Delmont sustained broken fingers in the Pura Cup win against the Bulls.
b. transitive. To experience, esp. as an imposition; to submit oneself or be subjected to. Cf. undergo v. 6. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)] > be subjected to or undergo an action > undergo or experience
feelOE
seeOE
passa1325
provec1330
attastec1374
wielda1375
tastec1380
sufferc1390
to pass through ——c1400
expert?a1475
traverse1477
experiment1484
savour1509
to taste of1526
to go through ——1535
sustain1575
approve1578
try1578
experience1588
undergo1600
to run through ——1602
pree1806
1575 G. Gascoigne Glasse of Gouernem. i. i. sig. A Hauing susteyned like aduentures.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. ii. i. 47 Shireburne also susteined the sub-diuision.
1663 Rec. Meeting of Exercise, Alford (1897) 9 Mr. John Mair sustained his questionarie tryall, and his tryall in the Languages, and is approven.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 51 That Crop..Which twice the Sun, and twice the Cold sustains . View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 99 The Bull's Insult at Four she [sc. the cow] may sustain . View more context for this quotation
1820 Christian Disciple May 216 Candidates for the ministry should not be admitted to ordination until after having pursued theological studies four years, and sustained an examination.
1873 National Teacher Aug. 310 Candidates for admission to the agricultural course must sustain an examination in the common branches and in algebra to quadratic equations.
1975 M. Helprin Dove of East (1981) 178 Before dawn broke he had..sustained many a second wind.
a. transitive. To tolerate the existence or presence of; to permit, abide. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > patience > endure patiently [verb (transitive)] > bear with or tolerate
forbearc897
tholec950
bearOE
abidec1300
bidea1325
takec1330
suffer1340
wielda1375
to have patience with (also in, toward)c1384
supportc1384
to sit with ——c1400
sustainc1400
thulgec1400
acceptc1405
to away with1528
brook1530
well away1533
to bear with —1538
digest1553
to comport with1565
stand1567
purse?1571
to put up1573
well away1579
comport1588
fadge1592
abrook1594
to come away1594
to take up with1609
swallow1611
embracea1616
to pack up1624
concocta1627
to set down bya1630
to take with ——1632
tolerate1646
brook1658
stomach1677
pouch1819
c1400 Prose Versions New Test.: 2 Tim. (Selwyn) (1904) iv. 3 For tyme schal come when men ne wolleþ noȝt susteyne good techynge..& þei schulleþ turnen awey hure herynge from trewþe.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 1138 Kyng Menelaus..And kyng Thoas..myȝt no lenger hym sustene.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 33 (MED) The Creatour..susteynith their feblenesse and correctith their errours.
1660 J. Harding tr. Paracelsus Archidoxis ii. 97 Their own Countrey could not sustain the Errors of them: For I pray..What did Savanarola profit Friburgh?
b. transitive. With infinitive as object. To permit oneself or consent (to do or be something). Cf. suffer v. 15. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > permission > permit [verb (transitive)]
thave835
unneeOE
levec897
forletc900
i-thavec900
i-unneeOE
allowa1393
licensec1400
admit1418
sustainc1425
usea1450
permit1473
permise1481
withganga1500
tolerate1533
intermit?c1550
licentiate1575
'low1587
dispense1646
beholdc1650
warrant1662
the mind > language > speech > agreement > consent > consent to [verb (transitive)]
thave835
baithea1350
consentc1386
accordc1400
agreea1413
sustainc1425
to fall to ——a1450
exalt1490
avow1530
to stand satisfactory to1576
teem1584
assent1637
to close with1654
fiat1831
to stand in1911
wear1925
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 2525 (MED) How may ȝe sustene To sen ȝour men her vp-on þe grene A-fore ȝoure face slayn.
c1450 (?a1422) J. Lydgate Life Our Lady (Durh.) (1961) v. l. 339 O what was he, alas, that may susteyne To be proude considryng her mekenesse!
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 4432 I swepe, I make yt clene, ffor fylthe noon I may sustene Ther tabyde.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 223 My hart..Quhilk may nocht suffer nor sustene So grit abusioun for to se.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 110 We may not sustene To heir thame say, [etc.].
1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Ceyx & Alcyone in Fables 362 Can Ceyx then sustain to leave his Wife?
a1726 G. Sewell Rich. I (1728) ii He who leads Armies in the Cause of Heaven..Yet can sustain to wrong a King—a Friend.
1790 J. Stagg Misc. Poems 157 His feeling soul could not sustain To see, involv'd in this sad state, his love.
1832 Baptist Mag. Dec. 520/2 I cannot sustain to pass the measures of my own nature.
c. transitive. With object and infinitive complement. To permit (a person) to be or do something; = suffer v. 14. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > permission > permit [verb (transitive)] > permit by non-intervention
let971
tholec1070
to let (a person or thing) worthlOE
to let (a person or thing) yworth?c1225
sufferc1290
seea1400
assuffera1530
tolerate1533
sustain1541
comport1620
to let something ride1908
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxvi. f. 58v She coulde not susteyne hir sonnes wyfe to be called Augusta.
a1573 W. Lauder Minor Poems (1870) 28 The dayntie Dammis may nocht sustene The faithfull, for to fyle thair flure.
14. intransitive. To wait. Also with in: to await. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > expectation, waiting > wait, await [verb (intransitive)]
bidec1000
onbideOE
abidelOE
sustainc1350
tarry1390
await1393
to wait for1577
hearken1580
attend1589
sit1591
wait and see1719
to wait on1773
to hold one's (also the) breath1987
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xxiv. 5 (MED) Þou art my God..and ich susteined in þe aldaie.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Job xvii.13 If I shul susteynen, helle is myn hous.
c1425 (c1400) Prymer (Cambr.) (1895) 53 (MED) Mi soule susteynede in his word; my soule hopide in þe lord.
15. transitive. To wait patiently for. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > expectation, waiting > wait for, await [verb (transitive)]
bidec950
keepc1000
abideOE
i-kepe?c1225
lookc1225
bidea1300
sustainc1350
await1393
remainc1455
tarry?a1475
attenda1513
expect1536
to stay on1540
watch1578
remain1585
staya1586
to stay for ——1602
tend1604
to bide upona1616
behold1642
prestolate1653
expecta1664
wait1746
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xxiv. 2 (MED) Alle þo þat susteine þe shal nouȝt be confounded.
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) Psalms cv. 13 Sone hij..forȝaten hys werkes and ne susteined [L. sustinuerunt] nouȝt hys conseil.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxxvi. 18 Ȝif meede, Lord, to men sustenende [L. sustinentibus] thee.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Mark viii. 2 Now the thridde day thei susteynen, or abyden [L. sustinent] me.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1567
v.c1300- unicoloured
- uniconsonantal
- uniconsonantic
- unicorn
- unicorn acanthurus
- unicorn auk
- unicorn bone
- unicorn carman
- unicorn fashion
- unicorn file-fish
- unicorn filefish
- unicorn guard
- unicorn hawk
- unicorn hornbill
- unicorn horse
- unicorn narwhal
- unicorn omnibus
- unicorn team
- unicorn whale
- unicorn-bird
- unicorn-crested
- unicorn-fish
- unicorn-ivory
- unicorn-like
- unicorn-moth