Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Keep \Keep\ (k[=e]p), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Kept}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Keeping}.] [OE. k?pen, AS. c?pan to keep, regard, desire,
   await, take, betake; cf. AS. copenere lover, OE. copnien to
   desire.]
   1. To care; to desire. [Obs.]

            I kepe not of armes for to yelp [boast]. --Chaucer.

   2. To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let
      go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not to
      lose; to retain; to detain.

            If we lose the field, We can not keep the town.
                                                  --Shak.

            That I may know what keeps me here with you.
                                                  --Dryden.

            If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are
            considering, that would instruct us.  --Locke.

   3. To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to
      maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or
      tenor.

            His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. --Milton.

            Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on.
                                                  --Addison.

   Note: In this sense it is often used with prepositions and
         adverbs, as to keep away, to keep down, to keep from,
         to keep in, out, or off, etc. ``To keep off
         impertinence and solicitation from his superior.''
         --Addison.

   4. To have in custody; to have in some place for
      preservation; to take charge of.

            The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was
            always kept in the castle of Vicegrade. --Knolles.

   5. To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.

            Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. --Gen.
                                                  xxviii. 15.

   6. To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to
      communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.

            Great are thy virtues . . . though kept from man.
                                                  --Milton.

   7. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.

            And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the
            garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. --Gen.
                                                  ii. 15.

            In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor.
                                                  --Carew.

   8. To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to
      keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts,
      records, etc. ) in a book.

   9. To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the
      like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.

            Like a pedant that keeps a school.    --Shak.

            Every one of them kept house by himself. --Hayward.

   10. To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to
       keep boarders.

   11. To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an
       assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.

             I keep but three men and a boy.      --Shak.

   12. To have habitually in stock for sale.

   13. To continue in, as a course or mode of action; not to
       intermit or fall from; to hold to; to maintain; as, to
       keep silence; to keep one's word; to keep possession.

             Both day and night did we keep company. --Shak.

             Within this portal as I kept my watch. --Smollett.

   14. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from
       or violate; to practice or perform, as duty; not to
       neglect; to be faithful to.

             I have kept the faith.               --2 Tim. iv.
                                                  7.

             Him whom to love is to obey, and keep His great
             command.                             --Milton.

   15. To confine one's self to; not to quit; to remain in; as,
       to keep one's house, room, bed, etc.; hence, to haunt; to
       frequent. --Shak.

             'Tis hallowed ground; Fairies, and fawns, and
             satyrs do it keep.                   --J. Fletcher.

   16. To observe duty, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to
       solemnize; as, to keep a feast.

             I went with them to the house of God . . . with a
             multitude that kept holyday.         --Ps. xlii. 4.

   {To keep at arm's length}. See under {Arm}, n.

   {To keep back}.
       (a) To reserve; to withhold. ``I will keep nothing back
           from you.'' --Jer. xlii. 4.
       (b) To restrain; to hold back. ``Keep back thy servant
           also from presumptuous sins.'' --Ps. xix. 13.

   {To keep company with}.
       (a) To frequent the society of; to associate with; as,
           let youth keep company with the wise and good.
       (b) To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with
           one on a voyage; also, to pay court to, or accept
           attentions from, with a view to marriage. [Colloq.]
           

   {To keep counsel}. See under {Counsel}, n.

   {To keep down}.
       (a) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder.
       (b) (Fine Arts) To subdue in tint or tone, as a portion
           of a picture, so that the spectator's attention may
           not be diverted from the more important parts of the
           work.

   {To keep good} (or {bad}) {hours}, to be customarily early
      (or late) in returning home or in retiring to rest. -- {To
   keep house}.
       (a) To occupy a separate house or establishment, as with
           one's family, as distinguished from boarding; to
           manage domestic affairs.
       (b) (Eng. Bankrupt Law) To seclude one's self in one's
           house in order to evade the demands of creditors. --
   {To keep one's hand in}, to keep in practice. -- {To keep
   open house}, to be hospitable. -- {To keep the peace} (Law),
      to avoid or to prevent a breach of the peace. -- {To keep
   school}, to govern, manage and instruct or teach a school, as
      a preceptor. -- {To keep a stiff upper lip}, to keep up
      one's courage. [Slang] -- {To keep term}.
       (a) (Eng. Universities) To reside during a term.
       (b) (Inns of Court) To eat a sufficient number of dinners
           in hall to make the term count for the purpose of
           being called to the bar. [Eng.] --Mozley & W.

   {To keep touch}. See under {Touch}, n.

   {To keep under}, to hold in subjection; hence, to oppress.

   {To keep up}.
       (a) To maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution;
           as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's
           credit.
       (b) To maintain; to continue; to prevent from ceasing.
           ``In joy, that which keeps up the action is the
           desire to continue it.'' --Locke.

   Syn: To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; restrain;
        maintain; sustain; support; withhold. -- To {Keep}.

   Usage: {Retain}, {Preserve}. Keep is the generic term, and is
          often used where retain or preserve would too much
          restrict the meaning; as, to keep silence, etc. Retain
          denotes that we keep or hold things, as against
          influences which might deprive us of them, or reasons
          which might lead us to give them up; as, to retain
          vivacity in old age; to retain counsel in a lawsuit;
          to retain one's servant after a reverse of fortune.
          Preserve denotes that we keep a thing against agencies
          which might lead to its being destroyed or broken in
          upon; as, to preserve one's health; to preserve
          appearances.

Keeping \Keep"ing\, n.
   1. A holding; restraint; custody; guard; charge; care;
      preservation.

            His happiness is in his own keeping.  --South.

   2. Maintenance; support; provision; feed; as, the cattle have
      good keeping.

            The work of many hands, which earns my keeping.
                                                  --Milton.

   3. Conformity; congruity; harmony; consistency; as, these
      subjects are in keeping with each other.

   4. (Paint.) Harmony or correspondence between the different
      parts of a work of art; as, the foreground of this
      painting is not in keeping.

   {Keeping room}, a family sitting room. [New Eng. & Prov.
      Eng.]

   Syn: Care; guardianship; custody; possession.

Source : WordNet®

keeping
     n 1: conformity or harmony; "his behavior was not in keeping with
          the occasion"
     2: the responsibility of a guardian or keeper; "he left his car
        in my keeping" [syn: {guardianship}, {safekeeping}]
     3: the act of keeping in your possession [syn: {retention}, {holding}]