Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: sustenir; SUSTAIN

sustenance

 noun
     
Related topics: Food, Nutrition
sus‧te‧nance [uncountable] formal
1DFDFN food that people or animals need in order to live:
Without sustenance, the animals will soon die.
Potatoes were their only means of sustenance.
2 when something is made to continue:
Elections are necessary for the sustenance of democracy.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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