Verb

(en verb)

(obsolete) To support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action.

*:

*:And thenne he asked leue & wente oute of his heremytage for to mayntene his neuewe ageynst the myghty Erle / and so hit happed that this man that lyeth here dede dyd so moche by his wysedome and hardynes that the Erle was take and thre of his lordes by force of this dede man

To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.).

*, chapter=17

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.}}

*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 5, author=Phil Dawkes, work=BBC Sport

, title= QPR 2-3 Man City , passage=Mancini's men were far from their best but dug in to earn a 10th win in 11 league games and an eighth successive victory in all competitions to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the table.}}

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03, author=Nancy Langston, volume=101, issue=2, page=98

, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Mining the Boreal North , passage=Reindeer are well suited to the taiga’s frigid winters. They can maintain a thermogradient between body core and the environment of up to 100 degrees, in part because of insulation provided by their fur, and in part because of counter-current vascular heat exchange systems in their legs and nasal passages.}}

To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert.

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=the Guardian

, title= Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised? , passage=She maintains that the internet should face similar curbs to TV because young people are increasingly living online. "It's totally different, someone at Google watching the video from the comfort of their office in San Francisco to someone from a council house in London, where this video is happening right outside their front door."}}

Verb

(excell)

To surpass someone or something; to be better or do better than someone or something.

* '>citation

    La Rochefoucauld, the French philosopher, said: "If
you want enemies, excel' your friends; but if you want
friends, let your friends '''excel''' you."
    Why is that true? Because when our friends '''excel''' us,
that gives them a feeling of importance; but when we ' excel
them, that gives them a feeling of inferiority and arouses
envy and jealousy.

I excelled everyone else with my exam results.

To be much better than others.

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=November 12 , author= , title=International friendly: England 1-0 Spain , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Lescott gave his finest England performance alongside his former Everton team-mate Phil Jagielka, who also excelled despite playing with a fractured toe, while Parker was given a deserved standing ovation when he was substituted late on.}}

* 1924 : ARISTOTLE. Metaphysics . Translated by W. D. Ross. Nashotah, Wisconsin, USA: The Classical Library, 2001. Available at: . Book 1, Part 2.

If, then, there is something in what the poets say, and jealousy is natural to the divine power, it would probably occur in this case above all, and all who excelled in this knowledge would be unfortunate.

(rare) To exceed, to go beyond

* 1674 , Paradise lost, , by Milton

She opened; but to shut / Excelled her power: the gates wide open stood

* XIX century , , by Emily Dickinson

I reason, we could die : / The best vitality / Cannot excel decay; / But what of that?