maintenance

The story

1. Latin · derived frommanus tenēre“to hold in the hand”
2. Old French · derived frommaintenance
3. Middle English · inherited frommayntenaunce
4. English todaymaintenance

From Middle English mayntenaunce, from Old French maintenance, from maintenir, from Latin manus tenēre (“to hold in the hand”). By surface analysis, maintain + -ance. Note that maintain has undergone a sound and spelling change, hence is spelt with -tain-, rather than the -ten- still found in maintenance.