English Reference
Noun

sustenance

n.
C1 Advanced US /ˈsəstənəns/ UK /sˈʌstənəns/ sus·te·nance UK spelling sustenances

n.the food and drink you need to stay alive and healthy. It is a more formal word than 'food' or 'meals'.

n.the food and drink necessary for life and health. Often used in formal or literary contexts to describe the basic necessities of survival.


CONTEXTUAL

In many remote villages, the local community relies on traditional farming methods to provide the daily sustenance for the entire population.

COMPLEX

The explorers faced extreme hardship when their supplies of sustenance were exhausted, forcing them to forage for edible plants and hunt for game to survive the winter.


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.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin sustinere
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated