Milton.
Sus*tain"a*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. soutenable, OF. soustenable.] Capable of
being sustained or maintained; as, the action is not sustainable.
Sus*tained" (?), a. Held up to a certain pitch, degree, or level;
uniform; as, sustained pasion; a sustained style of writing; a
sustained note in music.
Sus*tain"er (?), n. One who, or that which, sustains. Waterland.
Sus*tain"ment (?), n. The act of sustaining; maintenance; support.
Milton. Lowell.
Sus*tal"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?; contractile, fr. &?; to draw together, to
moderate; &?; together + &?; to place.] Mournful; -- said of a species
of music among the ancient Greeks. Busby.
Sus"te*nance (?), n. [OF. sustenance, sostenance, soustenance: cf. L.
sustenentia endurance. See Sustain.] 1. The act of sustaining; support;
maintenance; subsistence; as, the sustenance of the body; the
sustenance of life.
2. That which supports life; food; victuals; provisions; means of
living; as, the city has ample sustenance. "A man of little
sustenance." Chaucer.
For lying is thy sustenance, thy food.
Milton.
Sus*ten"ta*cle (?), n. [L. sustentaculum. See Sustentation.]
Sustenance. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.
Sus`ten*tac"u*lar (?), a. [See Sustenance.] (Anat.) Supporting;
sustaining; as, a sustentacular tissue.
Sus"ten*tate (?), v. t. To sustain. [R.] C. Reade.
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.
Sus"ten*ta*tive (?), a. Adapted to sustain, strengthen, or corroborate;
as, sustentative citations or quotations.
Sustentative functions (Physiol.), those functions of the body which
affect its material composition and thus determine its mass.