Hypertext Webster Gateway: "maintain"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to
surrender or relinquish.
God values . . . every one as he maintains his post.
--Grew.
3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.
Maintain talk with the duke. --Shak.
4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply
with what is needed.
Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life.
--Stirling.
What maintains one vice would bring up two children.
--Franklin.
5. To affirm; to support or defend by argument.
It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to
be maintained by it. --South.
Syn: To assert; vindicate; allege. See {Assert}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (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}, {hold}]
2: keep in perfect or unaltered condition; "We preserve these
archeological findings"; "The old lady could not keep up
the building" [syn: {preserve}, {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}]
4: state categorically [syn: {assert}, {asseverate}]
5: of power or authority [syn: {wield}, {exert}]
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}]
7: maintain by writing regular records; "keep a diary";
"maintain a record"; "keep notes" [syn: {keep}]
8: state or assert; "He maintained his innocence" [syn: {defend}]
9: support against an opponent; "The appellate court upheld
the verdict" [syn: {uphold}]
10: observe correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with
the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of
all my employees" [syn: {observe}, {keep}]
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