subsist

subsist is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.To continue; to retain a certain state. Firm we subsist, yet possible to swerve. Milton.
  2. 2.To be maintained with food and clothing; to be supported; to live. Milton. To subsist on other men's charity. Atterbury.
  3. 3.To support with provisions; to feed; to maintain; as, to subsist one's family. He laid waste the adjacent country in order to render it more difficult for the enemy to subsist their army. Robertson.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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