Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sustentation \Sus`ten*ta"tion\, n. [L. sustentatio sustenance,
   maintenance, fr. sustentare to support, maintain, v. intens.
   fr. sustinere to sustain: cf. F. sustentation. See
   {Sustain}.]
   1. The act of sustaining, or the state of being sustained;
      preservation from falling; support; sustenance;
      maintenance.

   2. (Physiol.) The aggregate of the functions by which a
      living organism is maintained in a normal condition of
      weight and growth.

   {Sustentation fund} (Eccl.), a fund of a religious body for
      support of its ministers, chapels, etc.; as, the
      sustentation fund of the Free Church of Scotland.