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

To continue in (a course or mode of action); not to intermit or fall from; to maintain.

:

*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

*:Both day and night did we keep company.

*(Tobias Smollett) (1721–1771)

*:within the portal as I kept my watch

To hold the status of something.

#To maintain possession of.

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#To maintain the condition of.

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#*

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=10 , passage=Mr. Cooke had had a sloop?yacht built at Far Harbor, the completion of which had been delayed, and which was but just delivered.

#*{{quote-book, year=1935, author= George Goodchild

, title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=1 , passage=She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.}}

#(lb) To record transactions, accounts, or events in.

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#(lb) To enter (accounts, records, etc.) in a book.

#(label) To remain in, to be confined to.

#*1605 , (William Shakespeare), (King Lear) , III.ii,

#*:The wrathful skies / Gallow the very wanderers of the dark / And make them keep their caves.

#To restrain.

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# To watch over, look after, guard, protect.

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#*1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , II.viii:

#*:cursse on thy cruell hond, / That twise hath sped; yet shall it not thee keepe / From the third brunt of this my fatall brond.

#To supply with necessities and financially support a person.

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#(lb) To raise; to care for.

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#*1914 , Robert Joos, Success with Hens , Forbes & company, p.217:

#*:Of course boys are boys and need watching, but there is little watching necessary when they keep chickens.

#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 14, author=Steven Morris, work=(The Guardian), title= Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave

, passage=Jailing her on Wednesday, magistrate Liz Clyne told Robins: "You have shown little remorse either for the death of the kitten or the trauma to your former friend Sarah Knutton." She was also banned from keeping animals for 10 years.}}

#To maintain (an establishment or institution); to conduct; to manage.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:like a pedant that keeps a school

#*Sir (c.1564-1627)

#*:They were honourably brought to London, where every one of them kept house by himself.

#*

#*:At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

#To have habitually in stock for sale.

To hold or be held in a state.

#(lb) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.

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#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps .

#To continue.

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#*, chapter=22

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.

#*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)

, volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic

#To remain edible or otherwise usable.

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#*1707 , John Mortimer], ''[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8xUAAAAAQAAJ&redir_esc=y The Whole Art of Husbandry

#*:If the malt be not thoroughly dried, the ale it makes will not keep .

#(lb) To remain in a state.

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(lb) To wait for, keep watch for.

*:

*:And thenne whan the damoysel knewe certaynly that he was not syre launcelot / thenne she took her leue and departed from hym / And thenne syre Trystram rode pryuely vnto the posterne where kepte hym la beale Isoud / and there she made hym good chere and thanked god of his good spede

To act as wicket-keeper.

:

To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.

*(William Tyndale) (1494-1536)

*:Keep that the lusts choke not the word of God that is in us.

To be in session; to take place.

:

(lb) To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from or violate.

*Bible, iv. 7

*:I have kept the faith.

*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

*:Him whom to love is to obey, and keep / His great command.

To confine oneself to; not to quit; to remain in.

:

To visit (a place) often; to frequent.

* (1579-1625)

*:'Tis hallowed ground; / Fairies, and fawns, and satyrs do it keep .