Where does “sustain” come from?
Sustain comes from Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustineo (to hold up or support), formed from sub (under) and teneo (to hold).
sustain (English): To maintain, or keep in existence; To provide for...
Definitions
- To maintain, or keep in existence; To provide for...
Ancestry of “sustain”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | susteinen | — |
| 2 | Old French | sustenir | to hold up; to support; to support; to sustain |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | sustenire | — |
| 4 | Latin | sustineo | I hold up or upright, uphold, keep up, bear up,... |
| 5 | Latin | sub- | sub- |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
Words derived from “sustain”