▪ I. † sustain, n. Obs. rare.
[f. next.]
That which sustains; means of sustenance.
| 1653 Milton Ps. iii, 14, I lay and slept, I wak'd again, For my sustain Was the Lord. |
Restrict † Obs. rare to sense in Dict. and add: 2. Mus. The effect or result of sustaining a musical note, esp. electronically. Also attrib., designating controls which affect this aspect of a sound.
| 1972 Guitar Mag. Oct. 19/2 These instruments produced a fantastic sustain. 1974 D. Friend et al. Learning Music with Synthesizers ii. 94 The sustain slider permits you to control..whether the initial decay will be halted before the final release. 1985 Internat. Musician June 77/3 A sound which has a great sustain and very good tonal quality. 1986 Keyboard Player Apr. 15/3 The only analog type controls are the Multi Equalizer and Sustain levers of which there are 11. |
▪ II. sustain, v.
(səˈsteɪn)
Forms: 3 susteni, -eini, -einy, -eyni, -eyny, sosteine, souste(i)ne, 3–6 susteyne, 3–7 susteine, sustene, 4–5 sustyne, -teene, 4–6 sust(e)igne, susteyn, -tayn, (4 sostene, suste(e)n, -tyene, 5 sousteyne, 6 swstene), 4–7 sustaine, sustayne, 6–7 sustein, 4– sustain.
[a. AF., OF. sustenir, so(u)stenir (mod.F. soutenir), pres. stem sus-, so(u)stein-, -eign-, corresp. to Pr., Sp. sostener, It. sostenere, Pg. soster, ad. L. sustinēre, f. sus- sub- 26 + tenēre to hold, keep.]
1. † a. trans. To support the efforts, conduct, or cause of; to succour, support, back up. Obs.
| c 1290 Beket 1507 in S. Eng. Leg. 149 And bote heo wolden him bi-leue and ne susteyni him non-more. 13.. Cursor M. 22102 (Gött.) Bethaida and corozaim, Þir tua cites sal susten [Cott. foster] him [sc. þe anticrist]. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour lxv, The wiff of the said Amon was not wise..to susteyne hym in his foly. c 1500 Melusine 111 That..ye..worship with all your power holy chirch, beyng her champyons, the same to susteyne & withstand ayenst alle her euyl wyllers. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. clxxxvii. 572 That was the duke of Bretaygne, who susteynd the traytour syr Peter of Craon. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 333 No man sould foster, succour or sustene no Douglasses withtin thair boundis. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World v. i. §6. 349 The Romans resolue to sustaine him, and put themselues in order. 1697 Dryden æneid vi. 1122 His Sons, who seek the Tyrant to sustain. 1711 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 143 They brought all the Grenadiers of their army, well sustain'd by a good body of other foot. 1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad i. 16 While Thebes secure our vain attempts withstands, By daily aids sustain'd from distant lands. 1802 James Milit. Dict. s.v., To sustain is to aid, succour, or support, any body of men in action, or defence. |
† b. To uphold, back up, give support to (a person's conduct, a cause, a course of action). Also, to stand by (one's own action or conduct).
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7354 Þo willam hurde þat he wolde susteini is tricherie. a 1300 Cursor M. 29275 Þam..þat sustens..Fals trout gain cristen state. c 1368 Chaucer Compl. Pite 111 And netheles yit my troth I shall susteen vnto my deth. c 1374 ― Troylus ii. 1686, I wole right fayn with al my myght ben oon. Haue god my trouþe here cause to susteyne. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 154/2 He began to susteyn the feyth to whiche he had ben contrarye. a 1575 Diurn. Occurr. (Bannatyne Cl.) 281 Johne Knox minister requyrit the lordis to sustene ane book. quhairinto wes contenit that thaj suld ordane..xij superintendentis. 1671 J. Flavel Fount. Life vii. Wks. 1701 I. 44/1 His [sc. Christ's] Death and Sufferings..must respect others, whose Persons and Cause he sustained in that suffering Capacity. 1752 Young Brothers iii. i, I'll go; Sustain my part, and echo loud my wrongs. |
c. Const. clause or (rarely) acc. and inf.: To support the contention or argument, maintain (that{ddd}). Now rare.
| c 1366 Chaucer A.B.C. 22 As bi riht þei mihten wel susteene. Þat j were wurþi my dampnacioun. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 175 Þes freres..seyde..þat it is an erroure to susteyne þat dymes ben pure almes. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour xii, Ther was moche speche whiche he shulde take, mani folke susteninge to take the elder [daughter]. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 209 How it may be sustenyt that the king of Fraunce has na soverane. c 1550 R. Bieston Bayte Fortune B ij, With wordes thou wouldest susteine that no good dede is doen without thee. 1609 Hume Admonit. in Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) 570 On the other part, otheris of you..sustene, that, among pastoris, thair sould be imparitie. 1678 G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. xi. §3. (1699) 59 The Justices would not sustain, minæ per se, to be a sufficient qualification of self-defence. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 8 Sept. 3/1 What patriotic Englishman can for a moment sustain that [etc.]? |
2. To uphold the validity or rightfulness of; to support as valid, sound, correct, true, or just.
| 1415 Hoccleve To Sir J. Oldcastle 183 Fro Cryst þat right first greew, & if þat we Nat shuln susteene it, we been ful vnwyse. 1425 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 271/2 Such possession..ought not to be sustened ne affermed. 1689 Sc. Acts Will. & Mary (1875) XII. 47/2 The objectione þerafter putt to the vote and sustained to reject the Commissione be 24 votes. 1754 in Nairne Peerage Evid. (1874) 60 [They] sustained and hereby sustain the claim and fand and hereby find that she is a just and lawful creditor. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 67 In the Thesis which I sustained for the degrees in physic at Leyden. 1793 Ld. Eskgrove in Lockhart Scott (1837) I. vii. 215 Sustain the Sheriff's judgment, and decern. 1807 Ld. Eldon in Vesey Reports (1827) XIII. 601 The trustee, having..proved, that he had removed himself from the character of trustee, his purchase may be sustained. 1855 Poultry Chron. III. 412 If an objection be made to any entry as being a false one, and such objection be sustained within ten days. |
3. To keep (a person or community, the mind, spirit, etc.) from failing or giving way.
| 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxxii. 984 Þat sacrament reconsileþ him ay, Susteyneþ him, þat he ne falle may. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 62, I prey to god in honour hire susteene. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1749 All þe gracious godis & gudnes..Þat..sustaynes þe erth. 1535 Coverdale Ps. iii. 6, I layed me downe and slepte, but I rose vp agayne, for the Lorde susteyned me. 1662 Rowley Birth Merlin i. ii. 10 That hope alone sustains me. 1742 Young Nt. Th. iv. 401 He tunes My voice (if tun'd); the nerve, that writes, sustains. 1837 Lockhart Scott III. x. 334 [He] who, more perhaps than any other master of the pen, had contributed to sustain the spirit of England throughout the struggle. 1843 Wordsw. Grace Darling 49 Inwardly sustained by silent prayer. |
4. To keep in being; to cause to continue in a certain state; to keep or maintain at the proper level or standard; to preserve the status of.
| c 1290 St. Kath. 68 in S. Eng. Leg. 94 Þis Aumperour sende..is sonde Þat þe gretteste maistres of clergie to him comen..for to susteinen op heore lawe þoru strencþe of clergie. c 1290 Beket 1605 ibid. 152 He þat sosteinez vuele lawes. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6507 He..muche louede holi chirche & susteinede al so. Ibid. 7697 No time nas Þet pes bet isusteined þan bi his time was. 1340 Ayenb. 57 Þo þet þe tauernes sustyeneþ byeþ uelaȝes of alle þe zennen þat byeþ y-do ine hare tauernes. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. ix. 108 Trewe wedded libbing folk..mote worche & wynne & þe worlde susteyne. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 294 The honour of his regne to susteene. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 210 Trewe juges and sergeauntis of the lawe,..Holde trouthe and sustene rightwisnesse. 1483 Caxton Cato d j, He deyed for to holde and susteyne the lawe and trowthe. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ii. 40 That great Queene..That with her soueraigne powre,..All Faery lond does peaceably sustene. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. xlvii, Two Chiefs..Each able to sustain a Nations fate. 1697 ― æneid i. 400 Remus with Quirinus shall sustain The righteous Laws. 1700 Prior Carm. Sec. 10 Happy Pow'r sustain'd by wholesom Laws. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. vi. (1852) 154 The rule of good, no longer enforced by its proper penalties, requires to be sustained by some equivalent expedient. 1841 Myers Cath. Th. iv. §45. 406 If it [sc. Protestantism] has destroyed much it has also created much, and is now sustaining much. 1875 Manning Mission Holy Ghost viii. 211 We are creatures who have come forth from His omnipotence, and are sustained by His almighty power. |
5. a. To keep going, keep up (an action or process, † occas. a material object); to keep up without intermission; (with mixture of sense 8 or 9), to carry on (a conflict, contest).
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. (Kölbing) 9926 Four geauntes,..Þat sustend þat bataile. 1405 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (1879) 65 Any other anourment whare-wit godes seruys es sustend. c 1407 Lydg. Reason & Sens. 771 Vertu sensityf..hir quarel doth sustene Ageyns hir ful Rigorously. c 1420 ? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1093 Whyle these pety-capteynes susteynyd thus the feelde. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 602, ij lampes to be susteyned with oyle. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xlvii. 22 To turne to trew luve his intent, And still the quarrell to sustene. 1544 Betham Precepts War i. lxxvii. E ij, Men refreshed wyth hote meates, bene hable to susteyne battayle an whole daye. 1553 Paynell tr. Dares' Phryg. Destr. Troy F ij, Aiax Thelamonius valiantly sustained y⊇ thinge vntill the night departed y⊇ battel. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 86 Menalcas shall sustain his under Song. 1760–2 Goldsm. Cit. W. xci, Their perseverance is beyond what any other nation is capable of sustaining. a 1774 ― Hist. Greece I. 292 At last, the Athenian fleet, after sustaining a long battle,..was put to flight. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxxvi, He felt no sort of desire..to sustain a correspondence which must be perilous. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India iv. v. II. 205 It was the severest conflict which the English had yet sustained with an Indian army. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. iv. (1842) 96 The fire is lighted by a piece of brown paper and a little small coal, and is sustained..with coke and small coal. 1848 Dickens Dombey xxx, The conversation was almost entirely sustained by Mrs. Skewton. 1850 Hawthorne Scarlet L. iii. (1879) 71 By the Indian's side, and evidently sustaining a companionship with him. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 46 The arts by which he sustains the reader's interest. 1883 Grove Dict. Mus. III. 638/1 Comical..effects might be got by sustaining such sounds as ‘z-z’..‘r-r’..or ‘ü’. Ibid. 639/1 By giving the piano⁓forte this power of sustaining sound, the special character of the instrument is transformed. |
† b. To maintain the use, exercise, or occupation of. Obs.
| 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. vi, If you thinke gods but fain'd, and vertue painted, Know, we sustaine an actuall residence. 1612 Chapman Rev. Bussy d'Ambois iii. iv. 5 Since I see You still sustain a jealous eye on me. 1623 Shakspere's Wks. Ep. Ded., When we valew the places your H. H. sustaine. |
† 6. a. To support life in; to provide for the life or bodily needs of; to furnish with the necessaries of life; to keep. Obs.
| c 1290 St. Edmund 552 in S. Eng. Leg. 447 Swiþe faire under-fongue, And isusteyned in his anuy. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2354 He nadde noȝt inou is kniȝtes to soustene. Ibid. 7755 Hom þoȝte in engelond so muche folc neuere nas Þat it was wonder ware þoru isousteined it was. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 797 Alle þe godus þat ȝe geten..Seruen for to sustaine ȝour vnsely wombe. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 275 Þorw þe mylke of þat mylde best þe man was susteyned. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xv. 68 Of concubines ilke man takes als many as he may sustene of his gudes. Ibid. xxxii. 145 Meet and drink wharwith þe feble body myght be susteynd. 1483 Caxton Cato A iij b, Thou oughtest to loue thy fader and moder nexte after god, and to..susteyne them in theyr necessytees. 1653 Hammond On Matth. iv. 4. 21 Bread or ordinary means of susteining men. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 415 Whatever was created, needs To be sustaind and fed. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 26 Oct. 1685, The daughter of a poore labouring man, who had sustain'd her parents..by her labour. |
† b. Said of the means of support. Obs.
| 1538 Starkey England (1878) 75 Other cuntreys in lyke space or les, dothe susteyn much more pepul then dothe thys ourys. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 3 Ane hes that micht ane hundreith weill susteine. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 7 Their territories though large and fruitfull, too narrow to sustaine so populous a State. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 743 Enough remains..His Wife and tender Children to sustain. |
† c. refl. To keep oneself; occas. to take food, feed. Obs.
| a 1300 in E.E.P. (1862) 20 Sum þer beþ þat swinkiþ sore winne catel to hab more ham silf fair to susteni. 1380 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 40 He may nought ne haue nouȝthe to susteyne him self. ? a 1550 Freiris Berwik 226 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 293 That na apperance of feist be heir sene, Bot sobirly our selffis dois sustene. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 157 Thair..families are reducit to extreme miserie..not haveing quhairupon to sustein thame. 1650 W. D. tr. Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. §385 A husbandman that..mainteineth (susteineth) himself with the crop (incom) of his yearly corn. |
† d. To support (life, nature) with necessaries.
| 1402 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 17 Neither they tillen ne sowen,..neither nothing that man should helpe, but onely themselves, their lives to susteine. 1483 Caxton Cato h j b, Thou oughtest not to requyre..of god but that whyche is vtyle and prouffytable for to susteyn nature humayn. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 694 O sacred simples that our life sustain. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 82 They..labour Honey to sustain their Lives. |
† e. To supply (a person's need). Obs. rare.
| 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iv. ii. 135 Ile be with you againe: In a trice, like to the old vice, Your neede to sustaine. |
† 7. To provide for the upkeep of (an institution, establishment, estate, etc.). Obs.
| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 20 Þre þousand marke he gaf..To Petir & Paule of Rome, to susteyn þer light. 1431 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 15 That the same Wardeyns & their Successours fynde & susteyn v tapers of wexe..to brenne vpon my candylstyk. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 491 And they shold susteyne the seid mese, with ther owne costis, in al so good state or better than they resceived hit. 1544 tr. Littleton's Tenures i. viii. 16 Yf a house be let, to holde at wyl, the lessee is nat holden to susteyne or repayre the house. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §103 C, The saide J. shall well..sustaine & maintaine the houses & buildings which be..builded. |
8. a. To endure without failing or giving way; to bear up against, withstand.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. (Kölbing) 7152, & he bihinde to ben bi cas, To susten þe paiems ras. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xiii. 7 Charite..hopith alle thingis, it susteyneth alle thingis. a 1400 Chaucer Merciles Beaute 2 Your yen two wol slee me sodenly, I may the beautè of hem not sustene. 1474 Caxton Chesse i. ii. (1883) 12 The euyll lyf..of the kynge is the lyf of a cruell beste and ought not longe to be susteyned. 1577 Googe tr. Heresbach's Husb. 125 Asses..able to susteyn blowes, labour, hunger, and thyrst. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 209 This is now Our doom; which if we can sustain and bear, Our Supream Foe in time may much remit His anger. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India iv. viii. II. 281 He sustained the attack, which, for the space of an hour was vigorously maintained. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 290 Scarce one [of the cities] was now capable of sustaining a siege. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 263 There is no soul of man..who will be able to sustain the temptation of arbitrary power. 1889 A. R. Wallace Darwinism (1890) 17 Each species [of plant] can sustain a certain amount of heat and cold. |
b. † intr. (also with it) To bear up, hold out (obs.). Also occas. refl.
| 1382 Wyclif Ps. cxxix. [cxxx.] 3 If wickidnessis thou shalt al aboute kepe, Lord; Lord, who shal sustene? 1382 ― Isaiah lxiv. 3 Whan thou shalt do merueiles, wee shuln not sustene. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. 2029 heading, The Troyans and þe Grekes resumede the felde, in þe which the Grekis might not susteyne against þe swerde of Troylus. 1546 Langley tr. Pol. Verg. De Invent. i. iii. 5 Other that suppose this worlde had both an originall cause of being, and shall also sustein and ende by putrifaccion. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xli. 139 In deid that ȝe suld not susteind [= sustain it] He thunderit threitnings to the air. 1598 Chapman Iliad ii. 287 Sustaine a little then my friendes, that we the trueth may trie: Of reuerend Chalchas prophesy. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 544 Tho' Averill wrote And bad him with good heart sustain himself. |
c. trans. To bear, stand the force of (criticism, etc.).
| 1790 Gibbon Misc. Wks. (1814) III. 502 Their opinion will not sustain the rigour of critical enquiry. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 142 The Cathedral..ill qualified to sustain a comparison with the awful temples of the middle ages. |
9. a. To undergo, experience, have to submit to (evil, hardship, or damage; now chiefly with injury, loss as obj., † formerly also sorrow, death); to have inflicted upon one, suffer the infliction of.
In mod. journalistic use (orig. U.S.), to suffer the injury of (a broken limb, or the like).
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 7179 Why Sustayn ye þat sorow, þat Sewes for euer..? Why proffer ye not pes, or ye payne thole? c 1407 Lydg. Reason & Sens. 3570 Iason..Fortunyd was for to sustene Al the pereils oon by oon. 1426 in Surtees Misc. (1890) 10 After þe grete losses þat I have had and sustened. 1531 Elyot Gov. i. xxvi, The most noble emperour Octauius Augustus,..only for playing at dise and that but seldome, sustaineth a note of reproche. 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, c. 3, The Offendoures..to susteyne suche further punisshement as shall seme expedient. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 122 The princes are determyned noo longer to susteyne theyr oppressions. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. ii. 6 In which time they susteined many and great tempests. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 62 The host of Pharao..who all sustained one kinde of death. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 186 Good Beauties, let mee sustaine no scorne. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (Camden) 3 If either should chance to breake or spring mast or yarde or sustayne any leake or other damage. 1653 R. Sanders Physiogn., Moles 13 She shall sustain thefts, and suffer by fugitive servants. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 21 Sept. 1674, I went to see the greate losse that Lord Arlington had sustain'd by fire at Goring house. 1771 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. IV. 163 He died of a gangrene, occasioned by the bruises which he had sustained. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §322 The storms which the building had now sustained, without material damage. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xvii, He was relating the story of the bastinading which he had sustained. 1825 ― Betrothed xiii, Recollecting the loss she had so lately sustained on that luckless spot. 1833 H. Martineau Three Ages ii. 46 His Majesty had sustained a signal defeat abroad. 1865 Morley Mod. Characteristics 62 A provincial hostess, whose entertainment has gone off flatly, sustains about as much mortification as if her first⁓born had been attacked by the small-pox. 1880 Troy (U.S.) Daily Times 28 Aug., [He] fell from a pile of lumber yesterday afternoon and sustained a broken arm. |
| † const. inf. 1559 J. Aylmer Harborowe N iij b, Was it no wronge..that she susteyned..to be first a prysoner..and garded with a sorte of cutthrotes? |
† b. With neutral obj. Obs.
| 1575 Gascoigne Glasse Govt. Wks. 1910 II. 9 Having susteyned like adventures. 1577 Harrison England ii. ii. (1877) i. 47 Shireburne also susteined the sub-diuision. 1663 Rec. Meeting of Exercise, Alford (1897) 9 Mr. John Mair sustained his questionarie tryall, and his tryall in the Languages, and is approven. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 73 That Crop..Which twice the Sun, and twice the Cold sustains. Ibid. iii. 99 The Bull's Insult at Four she [sc. the cow] may sustain. |
c. To bear (a burden, charge); † to bear (expense).
| 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 425/1 Ye charges yat he most bere and susteigne. 1530 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 89 The Towne susteyneth nott one peny of the sayd charges. 1533 Bellenden Livy ii. iv. (S.T.S.) I. 142 He was sa fer rvn in age, þat he mycht nocht sustene þe charge of þe consulate. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 196 Neither coulde the King of Spaine sustaine the burden of so many warres. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxiv. 129 That such portion [in the distribution of land] be made sufficient, to susteine the whole expence to the common Peace. 1738 Wesley Hymns lxxiii. iv, The Burthen for me to sustain Too great, on Thee, my Lord, was laid. 1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike ix. 106 It has enabled us to sustain burdens which would have crushed any other people. |
d. To support (a part or character); to play the part of. Also occas. to bear (a title).
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 107 Where as they susteyne the persones of intercessours. 1588 Kyd Househ. Philos. Wks. (1901) 252 [He] ought principally to haue care in choosing of his wife, with whom hee must sustaine the persoune of a Husbande. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 116 Thay susteine the persone of honest sitizenis. 1643 Prynne Sov. Power Parl. App. 198 Christ our Saviour, who although he were the King of Kings, yet because he then sustained a private person, he payed tribute willingly. 1700 Wallis in Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 325 From him that..sustains that title. 1731 A. Hill in Sotheran's Catal. No. 12. (1899) 26, I am at a loss, how those characters will be sustain'd w{supc}{suph} they were to have represented. 1782 Cowper Parrot 35 Each character in ev'ry part Sustain'd with so much grace and art. 1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 88/1 It was in that very opera, The Siege of Rhodes, that Mrs. Colman, daughter-in-law of one of the composers, sustained the character of Ianthe. 1939 Joyce Finnegans Wake 49 He may have been the utility man of the troupe capable of sustaining long parts at short notice. 1975 U.S. News & World Rep. 3 Mar. 39/2 Students of geopolitics assert that the U.S. has a near-perfect combination to sustain such a role. 1980 M. Fonteyn Magic of Dance 312 These ballets seem essential to theatre dance as a whole because they stretch the artist's interpretive powers to the limit in sustaining long roles. 1983 Financial Times 16 Feb. 13/4 The solid-voiced baritone Roland Herrmann sustained the killing role of Creon with burly resilience. |
† 10. Const. inf., or acc. and inf., chiefly in negative, conditional, or interrog. use: To reconcile oneself to doing, to bear to do, something; to tolerate or bear that something should be done.
| 14.. in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 113 O who is alas that may sustene To be prowd, consider her mekenes. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 4432, I swepe, I make yt clene, For fylthe noon I may sustene Ther tabyde. 1540–1 Elyot Image Gov. xxvi. 58 b, She coulde not susteyne hyr sonnes wyfe to be called Augusta. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 110 We may not sustene To heir thame say, [etc.]. 1700 Dryden Ceyx & Alc. 19 Can Ceyx then sustain to leave his Wife? a 1726 Sewell Rich. I ii, He who leads Armies in the Cause of Heaven..Yet can sustain to wrong a King—a Friend. |
11. a. To hold up, bear the weight of; to keep from falling by support from below; often simply, to carry, bear. † Also with up. Now rare.
| a 1330 Roland & V. 338 Mahoun..dede mani fendes þer in..For to susten þe ymage, & sett him on heiȝe stage. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 108 Whos condicion Is set to be the foundament To sustiene up the firmament. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xvi. ii. 667 Gawayne..lepte vp behynde hym for to sustene hym. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. xvi. 50 That one [of the four elements] susteyned that other in suche manere, as therthe holdeth hym in the myddle. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. x. 43 Next whom Morindus did the crowne sustaine. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. ii. i. 3 In time the sauuage Bull sustaines the yoake. 1594 ― Cornelia ii. 339 What e're the massie Earth hath fraight, Or on her nurse-like backe sustaines. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. xi. 45 Well then, sustaine me: Oh. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 256 To harrow Furrows, and sustain the Plough. 1756 E. Moore Trial Selim 27 Her left hand clench'd, her cheek sustain'd. 1759 Toplady Poems (1860) 96 Each a Palm sustain'd In his victorious Hand. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxvi, Here again she looked round for a seat to sustain her. 1831 Scott Cast. Dang. viii, He found the minstrel seated at a small table, sustaining before him a manuscript. 1832 Brewster Nat. Magic x. 253 The difficulty..really consists in sustaining the anvil. 1850 A. Jameson Leg. Monast. Ord. (1863) 394 Sustained in the arms of two sisters of her Order. |
| fig. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 136 Pes sustiened up alofte With esy wordes and with softe Wher strengthe scholde lete it falle. 1620 T. Granger Div. Logike 66 The Adiunct receiued of the Subiect by inherence is infixed, infused, ingrafted, sustained of the subiect. |
b. To be the support of, as in a structure or building; to have resting upon it.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1135 For to make it strong Euery pyler the temple to sustene. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxiv. 505 A forke that susteyned vp their lodges, that was grete and stronge. 1611 Coryat Crudities 325 Two exceeding great Lyons in red marble, that sustaine two goodly pillars. 1697 Dryden æneid x. 1189 A Bough his Brazen Helmet did sustain. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 12 July 1654, The ample Hall and columne that spreads its capital to sustaine the roofe. 1717 Prior Alma ii. 277 The swelling Hoop sustains The rich Brocard. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 544 Her head..Indebted to some smart wig-weaver's hand For more than half the tresses it sustains. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxiii, The bier was so placed, as to leave the view of the body it sustained open [etc.]. 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. x. (1858) 365 The Galilean hills..contain or sustain green basins of table-land just below their topmost ridges. |
c. To bear, support, withstand (a weight or pressure). Also in fig. context.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prioress' T. 31 My konnyng is so wayk..That I ne may the weighte nat susteene. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 164 Lest the Stem..Shou'd scarce sustain the Head's unweildy weight. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 91 Though they have but a small weight of body to sustain. 1781 Cowper Flatting Mill 9 This process achiev'd, it is doom'd to sustain The thump after thump of a gold-beater's mallet. 1800 Vince Hydrost. ii. (1806) 23 The same pressure must sustain the same weight. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. ix. (1852) 268 This external pressure has nothing substantial to sustain it from within. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xxx. 404 When the pressure applied becomes too great for the glass to sustain, it flies to pieces. |
† d. To hold in position, hold erect, etc.; also, to be sufficient to bear the weight of. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxv. (Bodl. MS.), Þe nekke..bereþ and susteyneþ þe heed. 1481 Caxton Myrr. ii. xvii. 104 The quyck syluer is of suche nature..that it susteyneth a stone vpon it. 1538 Starkey England (1878) 49 Bycause they [sc. the feet] by theyr labour susteyne and support the rest of the body. 1599 A. Hume Hymns ii. 81 The feit ar swift and members meit, for to susteine the rest. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iv. vii. 165 If all eight [muscles] act, they hold the Back straight, and do as it were sustain a man. |
† e. refl. and intr. To hold oneself upright; also, to be in or maintain a fixed position. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 177 She ne hath foot on which she may sustene. c 1450 Merlin 354 He myght no lenger sustene on his feet for the traueile. 1604 Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 260 Behold, I haue a weapon: A better neuer did it selfe sustaine Vpon a Soldiers Thigh. 1728 R. Morris Ess. Anc. Archit. 35 The Solidity becomes of less Power to sustain in Proportion to its Height. |
† f. Const. inf. To have sufficient strength to do, be equal to doing, something. Obs.
| 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas ix. ii. (MS. Bodl. 263) 408/1 To stonde upriht he myhte nat susteene. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. xv. 50 No bodyly man may not susteyne for to see hym [sc. an angel] in no manere. |
12. To be adequate as a ground or basis for. (Cf. support v. 3 c.)
| 1828–32 Wesbter s.v., The testimony or the evidence is not sufficient to sustain the action, the accusation, the charges, or the impeachment. 1866 Seeley Ecce Homo v (ed. 8) 40 We go beyond what the evidence is able to sustain. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. II. 361 This passage undoubtedly sustains Mr. Grote's assertion. |
¶ 13. To wait for. (A literalism of translation.)
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xxxvi. 18 Ȝif meede, Lord, to men sustenende thee. 1382 ― Mark viii. 2 Now the thridde day thei susteynen [gloss or abyden] me. |