- OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L. tenere). See Manual, and Tenable
- 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.
- To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.God values . . . every one as he maintains his post.
- To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.Maintain talk with the duke.
- To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed.Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life.What maintains one vice would bring up two children.
- To affirm; to support or defend by argument.It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it.To assert; vindicate; allege. See Assert.
