SUBSIST

exist, survive, live, subsist

(verb) support oneself; “he could barely exist on such a low wage”; “Can you live on $2000 a month in New York City?”; “Many people in the world have to subsist on $1 a day”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

subsist (third-person singular simple present subsists, present participle subsisting, simple past and past participle subsisted)

To survive on a minimum of resources.

(mostly, philosophy) To have ontological reality; to exist.

To retain a certain state; to continue.

Source: Wiktionary

Sub*sist", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Subsisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Subsisting.] Etym: [L. subsistere to stand still, stay, remain alive; sub under + sistere to stand, to cause to stand, from stare to stand: cf. F. subsister. See Stand.]

1. To be; to have existence; to inhere. And makes what happiness we justly call, Subsist not in the good of one, but all. Pope.

2. To continue; to retain a certain state. Firm we subsist, yet possible to swerve. Milton.

3. To be maintained with food and clothing; to be supported; to live. Milton. To subsist on other men's charity. Atterbury.

Sub*sist", v. t.

Definition: To support with provisions; to feed; to maintain; as, to subsist one's family. He laid waste the adjacent country in order to render it more difficult for the enemy to subsist their army. Robertson.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition