Tend vs Maintain - What's the difference?
tend | maintain |
(legal, Old English law) To make a tender of; to offer or tender.
(followed by a to infinitive) To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain characteristic.
(with to) To look after (e.g. an ill person.)
To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
* Emerson
To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To await; to expect.
(obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
* Chapman
(nautical) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.
(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.).
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, title= To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert.
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As verbs the difference between tend and maintain
is that tend is to kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn or tend can be (legal|old english law) to make a tender of; to offer or tender or tend can be (with to) to look after (eg an ill person) while maintain is (obsolete|transitive) to support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action.tend
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) tenden, from (etyl) . Related to (l).Alternative forms
* (l), (l), (l), (l), (l) * (l), (l), (l), (l) (Scotland)Derived terms
* (l), (l)Etymology 2
From (etyl) *.Verb
(en verb)- They tend to go out on Saturdays.
- It tends to snow here in winter.
Usage notes
* In sense 2. this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. * SeeDerived terms
* tendencySee also
* be given toEtymology 3
From (etyl) . More at (l).Verb
(en verb)- We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.
- Shepherds tend their flocks.
- There's not a sparrow or a wren, / There's not a blade of autumn grain, / Which the four seasons do not tend / And tides of life and increase lend.
- Was he not companion with the riotous knights / That tend upon my father?
- (Shakespeare)
- Being to descend / A ladder much in height, I did not tend / My way well down.
External links
* * *Anagrams
* ----maintain
English
Verb
(en verb)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.}}
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.}}
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.}}
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."}}