Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sustain \Sus*tain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sustained}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Sustaining}.] [OE. sustenen, susteinen, OF. sustenir,
   sostenir, F. soutenir (the French prefix is properly fr. L.
   subtus below, fr. sub under), L. sustinere; pref. sus- (see
   {Sub-}) + tenere to hold. See {Tenable}, and cf.
   {Sustenance}.]
   1. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as,
      a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains
      a load; a rope sustains a weight.

            Every pillar the temple to sustain.   --Chaucer.

   2. Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the
      like; to support.

            No comfortable expectations of another life to
            sustain him under the evils in this world.
                                                  --Tillotson.

   3. To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to
      nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.

   4. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate. --Shak.

            His sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain. --Dryden.

   5. To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under;
      as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.

   6. To suffer; to bear; to undergo.

            Shall Turnus, then, such endless toil sustain?
                                                  --Dryden.

            You shall sustain more new disgraces. --Shak.

   7. To allow the prosecution of; to admit as valid; to
      sanction; to continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the
      court sustained the action or suit.

   8. To prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or
      confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an
      accusation, or a proposition.

   Syn: To support; uphold; subsist; assist; relieve; suffer;
        undergo.