Link Centre Dictionary

sustenance

sus·te·nance

UK/ˈsʌs.tə.nəns/ US/ˈsʌstʌnʌns/ uncommon

noun

2.

the financial means whereby one lives

  • “each child was expected to pay for their keep”
  • “he applied to the state for support”
  • “he could no longer earn his own livelihood”
3.

the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence

  • “they were in want of sustenance”
  • “fishing was their main sustainment”

Origin

From Middle English sustenaunce, from Old French sustenance, from sustenir with the suffix -ance, from Vulgar Latin *sustenire, from Latin sustinere. Compare also Late Latin sustinentia. Equivalent to sustain + -ance.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.