sustentation
noun
Forms sustentations
- noun The act or the result of sustaining; sustainment; sustention.
- noun The aggregate of the functions by which a living organism is maintained in a normal condition of weight and growth.
- noun (Christianity) The scheme by which the ministers of the Free Church of Scotland are supported by voluntary contributions not local or congregational, but with a national altruism or solidarity paid into a great central fund, out of which equal stipends are paid to all alike.
Synonyms
Etymology
First attested in 1382: from the Old French sustentacion, from the Latin sustentātio, from sustentō; compare the Italian sostentazione, the Occitan sustentacion, the Portuguese sustentação, and the Spanish sustentación. Doublet of sustentatio.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of sustaining, or the state of being sustained; preservation from falling; support; sustenance; maintenance.
- noun The aggregate of the functions by which a living organism is maintained in a normal condition of weight and growth. Sustentation fund (Eccl.), a fund of a religious body for support of its ministers, chapels, etc.; as, the sustentation fund of the Free Church of Scotland.
Etymology [L. sustentatio sustenance, maintenance, fr. sustentare to support, maintain, v. intens. fr. sustinere to sustain: cf. F. sustentation. See Sustain.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sustentation”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details