Keep1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. KEPT; p. pr. & vb. n. KEEPING.] [O. Eng. kepen, A-S. cepan, Scot. kep, kepp, keip, to intercept; Icel. kippa, to seize, pull. Cf. CHEAPEN, CHEAP.]
Sense 1. To cause to remain in a given position, as within one’s grasp or control; to maintain hold upon; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let go of; not to lose; to retain; to detain. “That I may know what keeps me here with you.” Dryden.
If we lose the field, we can not keep the town. Shak.
If we would weigh and keep in our minds that which we are considering, that would instruct us. Locke.
Sense 2. To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or tenor.
His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. Milton.
While the stars and course of heaven I keep, My wearied eyes were seized with fatal sleep. Dryden.
Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on. Addison.
☞ In this sense it is often used with prepositions and adverbs, as to keep away, to keep down, to keep from, to keep in, out, or off, &c. “To keep off impertinence and solicitation from his superior.” Addison.
Sense 3. To have in custody; to take care of; to preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.
Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. Gen. xxviii. 15.
The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was always kept in the castle of Vicegrade. Knolles.
Sense 4. To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to communicate, reveal, betray, or the like.
Great are thy virtues, though kept from men. Milton.
Sense 5. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. Gen. ii. 15.
In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor. Carew.
Sense 6. To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the like; to conduct; to manage. “Like a pedant that keeps a school.” Shak.
Every one of them kept house by himself. Hayward.
Sense 7. To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; to maintain; to support; as, to keep boarders.
Sense 8. To support in one’s service; to have and maintain, as an assistant, a servant, a horse, and the like.
I keep but three men and a boy. Shak.
Sense 9. Not to intermit or fall from; to continue in, as a course or mode of action; to hold on upon; to maintain.
Both day and night did we keep company. Shak.
Her servant’s eyes were fixed upon her face, And, as she moved or turned, her motions viewed, Her measures kept, and step by step pursued. Dryden.
Within this portal as I kept my watch. Smollett.
Sense 10. Not to swerve from or violate; to observe; to adhere to; to practice or perform, as duty; not to neglect; to be faithful to.
Obey and keep his great command. Milton.
My wishes are That Ptolemy may keep his royal word. Dryden.
Sense 11. To confine one’s self to; not to quit; to remain in; as, to keep one’s bed, house, room, &c.; hence, to haunt; to frequent.
’Tis hallowed ground. Fairies, and fawns, and satyrs do it keep. J. Fletcher.
Sense 12. To observe duly, as a festival or the like; to celebrate; to solemnize; as, to keep a feast, the passover, &c.
I went with them to the house of God . . . with a multitude that kept holyday. Ps. xlii. 4.
To keep back. (a.) To reserve; to withhold. “I will keep nothing back from you.” Jer. xlii. 4. (b.) To restrain; to prevent from. “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.” Ps. xix. 13.—To keep company with. (a.) To frequent the society of; to associate with; as, let youth keep company with the wise and good. (b.) To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with one on a journey or voyage: also (U. S.), to give or receive attentions, with a view to marriage. [Colloq.]—To keep down. (a.) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder. b. (Fine Arts.) To render subdued in tint or tone, as a portion of a picture, so that the part thus treated is made subordinate to some other part, and does not obtrude itself to the notice of the spectator, which is intended to be given to some more important portion of the work. Fairholt.—To keep good or bad hours, to be customarily early or late in returning home or in retiring to rest.—To keep school. (a.) To maintain or support a school; as, the town or its inhabitants keep ten schools. (b.) To govern and instruct or teach a school, as a preceptor.—To keep term (Universities), to reside during a term.—To keep up. (a.) To maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution; as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's credit. (b.) To maintain; to continue; to hinder from ceasing. “In joy, that which keeps up the action is the desire to continue it.” Locke.
Synonyms—To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; maintain; sustain; support; observe; withhold.—To KEEP, RETAIN, PRESERVE. Keep is the generic term, and is often used where retain or preserve would too much restrict the meaning; as, to keep silence, &c. Retain denotes that we keep or hold things, as against influences which might deprive us of them, or reasons which might lead us to give them up; as, to retain vivacity in old age; to retain counsel in a lawsuit; to retain one's servant after a reverse of fortune. Preserve denotes that we keep a thing against agencies which might lead to its being destroyed or broken in upon; as, to preserve one's health amid many exposures, to preserve appearances, &c.
Be obedient, and retain Unalterably firm his love entire. Milton.
See where the patriot shines, whose prudent care Preserves his country by protracted war. Pitt.