From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Sustain \Sus*tain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sustained}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Sustaining}.] [OE. sustenen, susteinen, OF. sustenir,
sostenir, F. soutenir (the French prefix is properly fr. L.
subtus below, fr. sub under), L. sustinere; pref. sus- (see
{Sub-}) + tenere to hold. See {Tenable}, and cf.
{Sustenance}.]
1. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as,
a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains
a load; a rope sustains a weight.
[1913 Webster]
Every pillar the temple to sustain. --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the
like; to support.
[1913 Webster]
No comfortable expectations of another life to
sustain him under the evils in this world.
--Tillotson.
[1913 Webster]
3. To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to
nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.
[1913 Webster]
4. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
His sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
5. To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under;
as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.
[1913 Webster]
6. To suffer; to bear; to undergo.
[1913 Webster]
Shall Turnus, then, such endless toil sustain?
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
You shall sustain more new disgraces. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
7. To allow the prosecution of; to admit as valid; to
sanction; to continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the
court sustained the action or suit.
[1913 Webster]
8. To prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or
confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an
accusation, or a proposition.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: To support; uphold; subsist; assist; relieve; suffer;
undergo.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Sustained \Sus*tained"\, a.
Held up to a certain pitch, degree, or level; uniform; as,
sustained pasion; a sustained style of writing; a sustained
note in music.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
sustained
adj 1: maintained at length without interruption or weakening;
"sustained flight"
2: (of an electric arc) continuous; "heat transfer to the anode
in free burning arcs" [syn: {free burning}, {sustained}]
|
