Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be âsatanic.â However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
MAINTAIN
observe, keep, maintain
(verb) stick to correctly or closely; âThe pianist kept time with the metronomeâ; âkeep countâ; âI cannot keep track of all my employeesâ
uphold, maintain
(verb) support against an opponent; âThe appellate court upheld the verdictâ
assert, asseverate, maintain
(verb) state categorically
maintain, defend
(verb) state or assert; âHe maintained his innocenceâ
keep, maintain
(verb) maintain by writing regular records; âkeep a diaryâ; âmaintain a recordâ; âkeep notesâ
sustain, keep, maintain
(verb) supply with necessities and support; âShe alone sustained her familyâ; âThe money will sustain our good causeâ; âThereâs little to earn and many to keepâ
wield, exert, maintain
(verb) have and exercise; âwield power and authorityâ
conserve, preserve, maintain, keep up
(verb) keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; âWe preserve these archeological findingsâ; âThe old lady could not keep up the buildingâ; âchildren must be taught to conserve our national heritageâ; âThe museum curator conserved the ancient manuscriptsâ
keep, maintain, hold
(verb) cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., âkeep cleanâ; âhold in placeâ; âShe always held herself as a ladyâ; âThe students keep me on my toesâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
maintain (third-person singular simple present maintains, present participle maintaining, simple past and past participle maintained)
(obsolete, transitive) To support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action. [14th-19thc.]
To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.). [from 14thc.]
To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert. [from 15thc.]
Antonyms
• (to keep up): abandon
Anagrams
• amanitin
Source: Wiktionary
Main*tain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Maintained; p. pr. & vb. n. Maintaining.] Etym: [OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L.tenere). See Manual, and Tenable.]
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 a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.
2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish. God values . . . every one as he maintains his post. Grew.
3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail. Maintain talk with the duke. Shak.
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.
5. To affirm; to support or defend by argument. It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it. South.
Syn.
– To assert; vindicate; allege. See Assert.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
25 December 2024
UNAMBIGUOUS
(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; âAs a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguousâ- Mario Vargas Llosa
Coffee Trivia
