Verb

To hold up; to lift on high; to elevate.

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To keep erect; to support; to sustain; to keep from falling; to maintain.

*

*

* {{quote-book

, year=1872 , year_published=2009 , edition=HTML , editor= , author=James De Mille , title=The Cryptogram , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=The Gutenberg Project , isbn= , page= , passage=Uttering such broken ejaculations Mrs. Hart burst into a passion of tears, and only Lord Chetwynde's strong arms prevented her from falling. / He upheld her. }}

To support by approval or encouragement.

* 1748 . . Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 18:

but there was still a connexion upheld among the different ideas, which succeeded each other.

Verb

To treat with tenderness and affection; to nurture with care; to protect and aid.

*, chapter=12

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […], and all these articles […] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished .}}

To hold dear; to embrace with interest; to indulge; to encourage; to foster; to promote; as, to cherish religious principle.

(obsolete) To cheer, gladden.

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

Her merry fit she freshly gan to reare, / And did of ioy and iollitie deuize, / Her selfe to cherish , and her guest to cheare [...].