Meanings
plural sustenances
- countableuncountableSomething that provides support or nourishment.
More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel.
2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna source of materials to nourish the body
nounthe financial means whereby one lives
nounthe act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinsustinere
- Vulgar Latin*sustenire
- Old Frenchsustenance
- Middle Englishsustenaunce
- Englishsustenance
From Middle English sustenaunce, from Old French sustenance, from sustenir with the suffix -ance, from Vulgar Latin *sustenire, from Latin sustinere. Compare also Late Latin sustinentia. Equivalent to sustain + -ance.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Vulgar Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek διατροφή
- διατροφή (diatrophḗ)something that provides support or nourishment
Bengali রিজিক, রুজি
- রিজিক (rijik)something that provides support or nourishment
- রুজি (ruji)something that provides support or nourishment
- জীবিকা (jibika)something that provides support or nourishment
Bulgarian препитание, издръжка
- препитание (prepitanie)something that provides support or nourishment
- издръжка (izdrăžka)something that provides support or nourishment
Chinese Mandarin 维持生计
- 维持生计something that provides support or nourishment
Finnish ylläpito
- ylläpitosomething that provides support or nourishment
French fondement
- fondementsomething that provides support or nourishment
German Nahrung, Verpflegung
- Nahrungsomething that provides support or nourishment
- Verpflegungsomething that provides support or nourishment
Hebrew פַּרְנָסָה
- פַּרְנָסָהsomething that provides support or nourishment
Icelandic viðurværi, fæði
- viðurværisomething that provides support or nourishment
- fæðisomething that provides support or nourishment
- matursomething that provides support or nourishment
- næringsomething that provides support or nourishment
Irish cothabháil
- cothabháilsomething that provides support or nourishment
Italian sostentamento
- sostentamentosomething that provides support or nourishment
Latin pābulum
- pābulumsomething that provides support or nourishment
Māori manapou
- manapousomething that provides support or nourishment
Russian пропита́ние
- пропита́ние (propitánije)something that provides support or nourishment
Spanish sustento, sustentamiento
- sustentosomething that provides support or nourishment
- sustentamientosomething that provides support or nourishment
- sostenimientosomething that provides support or nourishment
- mantenenciasomething that provides support or nourishment
Turkish geçim
- geçimsomething that provides support or nourishment
Cite this entry
sustenance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sustenance
“sustenance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sustenance. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sustenance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sustenance.
Source: sustenance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.