Result from Foreign Dictionaries (2 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Maintain \Main*tain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Maintained}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Maintaining}.] [OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L. tenere). See {Manual}, and Tenable.] 1. To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation. [1913 Webster] 2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish. [1913 Webster] God values . . . every one as he maintains his post. --Grew. [1913 Webster] 3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail. [1913 Webster] Maintain talk with the duke. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed. [1913 Webster] Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life. --Stirling. [1913 Webster] What maintains one vice would bring up two children. --Franklin. [1913 Webster] 5. To affirm; to support or defend by argument. [1913 Webster] It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it. --South. [1913 Webster] Syn: To assert; vindicate; allege. See {Assert}. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: maintain v 1: keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"; "hold in place"; "She always held herself as a lady"; "The students keep me on my toes" [syn: {keep}, {maintain}, {hold}] 2: keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; "We preserve these archeological findings"; "The old lady could not keep up the building"; "children must be taught to conserve our national heritage"; "The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts" [syn: {conserve}, {preserve}, {maintain}, {keep up}] 3: supply with necessities and support; "She alone sustained her family"; "The money will sustain our good cause"; "There's little to earn and many to keep" [syn: {sustain}, {keep}, {maintain}] 4: state categorically [syn: {assert}, {asseverate}, {maintain}] 5: have and exercise; "wield power and authority" [syn: {wield}, {exert}, {maintain}] 6: maintain for use and service; "I keep a car in the countryside"; "She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips" [syn: {keep}, {maintain}] 7: maintain by writing regular records; "keep a diary"; "maintain a record"; "keep notes" [syn: {keep}, {maintain}] 8: state or assert; "He maintained his innocence" [syn: {maintain}, {defend}] 9: support against an opponent; "The appellate court upheld the verdict" [syn: {uphold}, {maintain}] 10: stick to correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees" [syn: {observe}, {keep}, {maintain}]