verb/sosteˈneɾ/
to hold, to hold up, to prop up, to sustain, to underpin (physically); to sustain, to support, to keep (i.e. to give continuity to); to support, to uphold, to hold, to sustain, to contend, to maintain, to argue, to claim, to underpin, to defend
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tn̥-eh₁-(ye)-tider. Proto-Italic *tenēō Latin teneō Latin sustinēre Spanish sostener Inherited from Latin sustinēre.