Main-tāin',1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. MAINTAINED; p. pr. & vb. n. MAINTAINING.] [Fr. maintenir, from main, Lat. manus, hand, and tenir, Lat. tenere, to hold; It. mantenere, Pr. & Sp. mantener, Pg. manter.]
Sense 1. 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 the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present character or reputation.
Sense 2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish. “When Bedford, who our only hold maintained.” Daniel.
Sense 3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.
Maintain talk with the duke. Shak.
Sense 4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed. “Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life.” Stirling.
What maintains one vice would bring up two children. Franklin.
Sense 5. To support by assertion or argument; to defend by intellectual means; to affirm and stand ready to defend.
Synonyms—To assert; vindicate; allege. See ASSERT.