Hypertext Webster Gateway: "kept"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Keep \Keep\ (k[=e]p), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Kept}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Keeping}.] [OE. k?pen, AS. c?pan to keep, regard, desire,
await, take, betake; cf. AS. copenere lover, OE. copnien to
desire.]
1. To care; to desire. [Obs.]

I kepe not of armes for to yelp [boast]. --Chaucer.

2. To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let
go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not to
lose; to retain; to detain.

If we lose the field, We can not keep the town.
--Shak.

That I may know what keeps me here with you.
--Dryden.

If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are
considering, that would instruct us. --Locke.

3. To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to
maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or
tenor.

His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. --Milton.

Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on.
--Addison.

Note: In this sense it is often used with prepositions and
adverbs, as to keep away, to keep down, to keep from,
to keep in, out, or off, etc. ``To keep off
impertinence and solicitation from his superior.''
--Addison.

4. To have in custody; to have in some place for
preservation; to take charge of.

The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was
always kept in the castle of Vicegrade. --Knolles.

5. To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.

Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. --Gen.
xxviii. 15.

6. To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to
communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.

Great are thy virtues . . . though kept from man.
--Milton.

7. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the
garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. --Gen.
ii. 15.

In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor.
--Carew.

8. To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to
keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts,
records, etc. ) in a book.

9. To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the
like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.

Like a pedant that keeps a school. --Shak.

Every one of them kept house by himself. --Hayward.

10. To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to
keep boarders.

11. To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an
assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.

I keep but three men and a boy. --Shak.

12. To have habitually in stock for sale.

13. To continue in, as a course or mode of action; not to
intermit or fall from; to hold to; to maintain; as, to
keep silence; to keep one's word; to keep possession.

Both day and night did we keep company. --Shak.

Within this portal as I kept my watch. --Smollett.

14. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from
or violate; to practice or perform, as duty; not to
neglect; to be faithful to.

I have kept the faith. --2 Tim. iv.
7.

Him whom to love is to obey, and keep His great
command. --Milton.

15. To confine one's self to; not to quit; to remain in; as,
to keep one's house, room, bed, etc.; hence, to haunt; to
frequent. --Shak.

'Tis hallowed ground; Fairies, and fawns, and
satyrs do it keep. --J. Fletcher.

16. To observe duty, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to
solemnize; as, to keep a feast.

I went with them to the house of God . . . with a
multitude that kept holyday. --Ps. xlii. 4.

{To keep at arm's length}. See under {Arm}, n.

{To keep back}.
(a) To reserve; to withhold. ``I will keep nothing back
from you.'' --Jer. xlii. 4.
(b) To restrain; to hold back. ``Keep back thy servant
also from presumptuous sins.'' --Ps. xix. 13.

{To keep company with}.
(a) To frequent the society of; to associate with; as,
let youth keep company with the wise and good.
(b) To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with
one on a voyage; also, to pay court to, or accept
attentions from, with a view to marriage. [Colloq.]


{To keep counsel}. See under {Counsel}, n.

{To keep down}.
(a) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder.
(b) (Fine Arts) To subdue in tint or tone, as a portion
of a picture, so that the spectator's attention may
not be diverted from the more important parts of the
work.

{To keep good} (or {bad}) {hours}, to be customarily early
(or late) in returning home or in retiring to rest. -- {To
keep house}.
(a) To occupy a separate house or establishment, as with
one's family, as distinguished from boarding; to
manage domestic affairs.
(b) (Eng. Bankrupt Law) To seclude one's self in one's
house in order to evade the demands of creditors. --
{To keep one's hand in}, to keep in practice. -- {To keep
open house}, to be hospitable. -- {To keep the peace} (Law),
to avoid or to prevent a breach of the peace. -- {To keep
school}, to govern, manage and instruct or teach a school, as
a preceptor. -- {To keep a stiff upper lip}, to keep up
one's courage. [Slang] -- {To keep term}.
(a) (Eng. Universities) To reside during a term.
(b) (Inns of Court) To eat a sufficient number of dinners
in hall to make the term count for the purpose of
being called to the bar. [Eng.] --Mozley & W.

{To keep touch}. See under {Touch}, n.

{To keep under}, to hold in subjection; hence, to oppress.

{To keep up}.
(a) To maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution;
as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's
credit.
(b) To maintain; to continue; to prevent from ceasing.
``In joy, that which keeps up the action is the
desire to continue it.'' --Locke.

Syn: To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; restrain;
maintain; sustain; support; withhold. -- To {Keep}.

Usage: {Retain}, {Preserve}. Keep is the generic term, and is
often used where retain or preserve would too much
restrict the meaning; as, to keep silence, etc. Retain
denotes that we keep or hold things, as against
influences which might deprive us of them, or reasons
which might lead us to give them up; as, to retain
vivacity in old age; to retain counsel in a lawsuit;
to retain one's servant after a reverse of fortune.
Preserve denotes that we keep a thing against agencies
which might lead to its being destroyed or broken in
upon; as, to preserve one's health; to preserve
appearances.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Kept \Kept\, imp. & p. p.
of {Keep}.

{Kept mistress}, a concubine; a woman supported by a man as
his paramour.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

kept
adj : (especially of promises or contracts) not violated or
disregarded; "unbroken promises"; "promises kept" [syn:
{unbroken}] [ant: {broken}]


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