▪ I. subsist, n.
(səbˈsɪst)
[Shortening of subsistence.]
Payment of wages on account; = sub n. 7.
| 1855 Leifchild Cornwall 146 There is a custom of advancing money to the miners called subsist, that they may live until the value of their two months' earnings is determined. 1886 J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 65. |
b. attrib., in subsist money = subsistence money 1; subsist week, a week for which subsist money is paid.
| 1835 in N. & Q. Ser. ix. (1900) VI. 246/2 Agree to pay..Subsist Money each and every fortnight in such sums as may be agreeable to the Parties. 1843 Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. VI. 22/2 In the preceding account, no notice is taken of truck system, tommy shops..or subsist money. Ibid., The cuttings are measured generally every fortnight, the intervening time being subsist weeks, when the pay is on account. |
▪ II. subsist, v.
(səbˈsɪst)
[ad. L. subsistĕre to stand still, stand firm, cease, be adequate to, support, f. sub- sub- 26 + sistĕre to stand (see sist v.). Cf. F. subsister, It. sossistere, sussistere, Sp., Pg. subsistir.]
I. 1. intr. To have an existence as a reality; to exist as a substance or entity. (Cf. subsistence 1.)
| 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Quicunque vult, Perfecte God, and perfecte man: of a resonable soule, and humayne fleshe subsisting. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. iv. 499 Those Ideas, which Plato sometimes contends to be Substances, and to subsist alone by themselves. 1692 Bentley Boyle Lect. vi. 197 Matter abstractly consider'd cannot have subsisted eternally. 1701 Norris Ideal World i. iii. 145 That God is being itself subsisting by itself. 1847 Emerson Poems 18 The young deities discussed..What subsisteth, and what seems. 1874 Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 370 Define your Good..Next, how it may subsist without the Ill Which seems its only outline. |
2. To have its being or existence in a certain manner, form, or state, or by a certain condition. Obs. or arch.
| 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. ii. §2 In which essentiall vnitie of God a Trinitie personall neuerthelesse subsisteth. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World v. i. §4. 331 The one [sc. cavalry] subsisting, by being at large; the other [sc. infantry], by close imbattailing. 1634 Milton Comus 686 The unexempt condition By which all mortal frailty must subsist. 1649 J. Ellistone tr. Behmen's Epist. (1886) Pref. 7 All things proceed from God, subsist in God. 1684 Contempl. St. Man i. i. (1699) 2 The being of Time consists only of a succession of Instants..susbsisting only by a flux of Moments. 1732 Pope Ess. Man i. 169 All subsists by elemental strife; And Passions are the elements of Life. 1784 Cowper Task i. 367 By ceaseless action all that is subsists. |
3. † a. Philos. To exist in a substance or in accidents. Obs.
| 1599 Sir J. Davies Nosce Teipsum ii. iii. viii, If she were but the bodies accident, And her sole being did in it subsist, As white in snow. 1678 Gale Crt. Gentiles iv. iii. 5 The wise Creator..has..so constituted al moral Beings, both Virtues and Vices, as that they cannot subsist but in something natural. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxiii. §1 Not imagining how these simple Ideas can subsist by themselves, we accustom our selves, to suppose some Substratum, wherein they do subsist. 1686 South Serm. Isa. v. 20 (1727) II. 345 When they [sc. qualities] come to subsist in Particulars, and to be cloathed, and attended with several Accidents. 1821 Coleridge in Blackw. Mag. X. 219/2 The disciple of Malbranche, or of Berkeley, [affirms] that the objective subsists wholly and solely in the universal subject—God. |
b. gen. To consist, lie, or reside in some specified thing, circumstance, fact, etc.
| 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Sacrifice lvii, Your safetie in my sicknesse doth subsist. 1662 J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 278 It subsists only in the opinion wherewith most sea-men are prepossessed, that, certainly there is an Island in those parts. 1707 Fountainhall Decis. (1759) II. 385 It [sc. a collegium] can subsist and continue in one. 1732 Pope Ess. Man iv. 38 The Universal Cause..makes what Happiness we justly call Subsist not in the good of one, but all. 1741 Warburton Div. Legat. II. ii. 371 For the one God being the supreme Magistrate, it [sc. theocracy] subsisted in the Worship of that God alone. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 390 His wealth, fame, honours, all that I intend, Subsist and centre in one point—a friend! 1882 Coues Biogen (1884) 60 If there be no chemical or physical difference [between a live amœba and a dead one], in what does the great difference subsist? |
† c. To consist of. Obs. rare.
| 1631 R. Brathwait Whimzies, Pedler 139 Would you have a true survey of his family and number them by the pole? you shall finde them subsist of three heads: himselfe, his truck, and her misset. |
4. To preserve its existence or continue to exist; to remain in existence, use, or force.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. cxxii. 6 So long as braine and heart Haue facultie by nature to subsist. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. i. §1 The souls of men are capable of subsisting after death. a 1715 Burnet Own Time iii. (1724) I. 517 All ecclesiastical Courts subsisted now by this test only upon the King's permission. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1768) I. p. lvii, The equivocality..will not subsist in a translation. 1746 Hervey Medit. (1818) 9 The exercises of gratitude subsisted in paradise. 1752 tr. Rameau's Treat. Music 115 As soon as a Discord can be prepared, the Syncope no longer subsists. 1762 T. Mortimer Ev. Man own Broker (ed. 5) 59 The extensive scene of Jobbing, which has subsisted during the present war. 1794 S. Williams Vermont 161 The murders of the inquisition subsisted for centuries. 1811 Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xlv, His regard for her..has subsisted through all the knowledge of dear Marianne's unhappy prepossession for that worthless young man! 1813 Prichard Phys. Hist. Man vi. §6. 311 The custom of eating their prisoners of war still subsists in the central parts of the island of Celebes. 1876 Gladstone Homeric Synchr. 189 He found that tradition subsisting among them. 1911 Act 1 & 2 Geo. V, c. 46 §3 The term for which copyright shall subsist shall..be the life of the author and a period of fifty years after his death. |
b. of physical things. Now rare.
| 1621 T. Williamson tr. Goulart's Wise Vieillard 2 Adam and all his posteritie had subsisted and continued long vpon earth. 1740 Chesterfield Let. xciii, Which charter subsists to this day, and is called Magna Charta. 1772 Wesley Jrnl. 1 Feb. (1827) III. 439 Only the old chapel subsists. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) I. vi. 30 Where men and animals have long subsisted. 1819 Shelley Lett. Pr. Wks. 1888 II. 285 The central arch..yet subsists. 1903 Myers Hum. Pers. I. 244 The book, of course, subsists; it can be found in many libraries. |
† c. To continue in a condition or position; to remain (so-and-so). Obs.
| 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. vi. 73, I am return'd your Souldier:..still subsisting Vnder your great Command. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. ii. xix, The wandring heat (which quiet ne're subsisteth). 1650 G. Campbell in Thanes of Cawdor (Spalding Cl.) 293 Commending yow and your bed⁓fellow to the Lord, I subsist your loving freind Geo. Campbell. |
† 5. Of physical objects: To be or live in a certain place or state. Obs.
| 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. ii. ii. (1687) 65/2 The Sea subsists upon the superficies of the Earth, which is flat. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 922 Forlorn of thee, Whither shall I betake me, where subsist? a 1716 Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 97 A private Man may be consider'd..as a single Man subsisting by himself. 1813 W. Taylor Engl. Syn. (1856) 284 That is aquatile, which subsists in water. |
6. Of a condition or quality: To exist.
| 1729 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. III. 362 That there should never any Uneasiness subsist between us. 1759 Johnson in Boswell (1831) I. 327 You have from me all the regard that can possibly subsist in the heart. 1777 Watson Philip II, x. (1793) I. 422 Granted upon a condition which did not yet subsist. 1855 Prescott Philip II, ii. vi. I. 205 The best possible understanding seems to have subsisted between them. |
II. † 7. To make a stand, stand firm, hold out.
| 1643 Cromwell in Lett. & Sp. (1850) I. xv. 219 Make them able to live and subsist. a 1662 Heylin Laud i. (1668) 162 If he cannot subsist, there is little or nothing left to hinder the House of Austria from being..Master of Germany. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 359 Firm we subsist, yet possible to swerve. 1671 ― P.R. iii. 19 All the world Could not sustain thy Prowess, or subsist In battel. 1726 Cavallier Mem. iv. 290 There I gave Ravenal necessary Instructions either to avoid meeting the Enemy, or to subsist. |
† b. To keep on, persevere. Obs.
| 1632 Lithgow Trav. viii. 372 He succumb'd, and could not subsist, not beeing vsed to pedestriall trauayle. |
† 8. To stand, hold good. Obs. rare.
| 1747 J. Howe Let. to S. Thompson 11 Sept., If this story subsists, I presume orders will be given. |
† 9. To cease, stop at a certain point. Obs.
| a 1637 Spottiswood Hist. Ch. Scot. vi. (1677) 403 Nor did their folly, or madness rather, subsist here. c 1680 R. MacWard Contend. (1723) 41 (Jam.), Here, at this time, I shall subsist, since I will have occasion to speak to this matter afterward. Ibid. 227, I might here subsist. But..I shall append..these few things. |
III. 10. trans. To provide sustenance for; to support or maintain with provisions or funds; to maintain, support, keep: said of provisions, funds, etc., or of the persons dispensing them.
| a 1683 Sidney Disc. Gov. ii. xxvi. (1704) 187 Taking from them all ways of subsisting their Familys. 1698 Froger Voy. 158 The Free-booters had contributed very much to subsist them for the first Years of the War. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 119 ¶2 We descry millions of species subsisted on a green leaf. 1725 Berkeley Let. 16 July, When I accepted the Deanry it was not with any view of subsisting the College in Bermuda with its Income. 1725 Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Breeding of Milk, A Cow, when she..has not Milk enough to subsist her Calf. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xv. xi, To be subsisted at her Expence from that little Fortune she had independent of her Father. 1854 Blackw. Mag. LXXVI. 1 Cultivating just as much land as would subsist them. 1879 H. George Progr. & Pov. i. v. (1881) 78 We have seen that capital does not advance wages or subsist labourers, but that its functions are to assist labour. 1901 P. Fountain Deserts N. Amer. x. 235 You can subsist them [sc. mules]..in a country where you could not find food for horses. |
b. To maintain, provide for, provision (troops). Also formerly, to give pay or allowance (1802 C. James Milit. Dict.).
| 1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar Wks. 1730 I. 78 Explain to him after what manner you subsisted your cloven regiment. 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 4045/3 The Charge of Subsisting these Officers and Men must be very great. 1799 Harris in Owen Wellesley's Desp. (1877) 120 We have a sufficient stock of provisions to subsist the troops. 1868 Mendell & Craighill tr. Jomini's Art of War iii. 77 A French army upon the Elbe might be subsisted from Westphalia. 1898 Mahan Nelson II. 241 If France..was..subsisting an army corps upon Neopolitan territory. |
| refl. 1810 G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 456 Massena cannot long subsist himself in his position. 1841 Catlin N. Amer. Ind. (1844) II. 39 The troops will be obliged to subsist themselves. |
11. To maintain or support oneself; to live upon food or money, or by a particular occupation. a. intr. (Also fig.)
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. vii. 26 Whose argument is but precarious and subsists upon the charity of our assentments. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §162 Ireland..reduced to that good degree of Husbandry..that it not only Subsisted of itself..but really increased the Revenue of the Crown. 1672 in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 355, I have not wherewithall to subsist. 1777 Sir W. Jones Ess. i. Poems 189 Our European poetry has subsisted too long on the perpetual repetition of the same images. 1830 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. II. 291 Animals which subsist upon vegetables. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. iv, Their forefathers had..modestly subsisted on the Docks. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 255/2 From that time he subsisted by literature. |
b. refl.
| 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 556 He said no Pecune to carry him thither, or to subsist himself when he came there. 1756 Burke Vind. Nat. Soc. 58 The people..began to subsist themselves from the publick Revenues. a 1806 Horsley Serm. (1811) 215 An idle peasantry subsist themselves by theft and violence. 1841 Catlin N. Amer. Ind. xx. (1844) I. 142 The horses..subsist themselves, in winter and summer over the vast plains of prairie. |
† 12. intr. To support life, keep alive, live. Obs.
| 1727 Swift Petit. Colliers Wks. 1755 III. i. 130 Should it happen..that this city should be deprived of the sunbeams for several months; how will his majesty's subjects subsist? 1775 Johnson Tax. no Tyr. 29 The body may subsist, though less commodiously, without a limb. 1784 Cowper Task v. 79 How find the myriads..Due sustenance, or where subsist they now? 1794 S. Williams Vermont 388 Several colonies of white people have subsisted in the torrid zone of America. |
b. Hyperbolically, with a negative expressed or implied.
| 1756 M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitland Club) 204 Hussy could not subsist without cards. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 7 ¶2 It is difficult to conceive how man can subsist without a News-paper. |
† 13. trans. a. To carry on, keep up. Obs.
| 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. xxv. 254 The contents of the Letters, were to pray Aides to subsist the warre. |
† b. To keep life in. Obs.
| 1716 Phil. Trans. XXIX. 493 It cannot be believed that a Supply, by this means obtained, can long subsist a Diver. |