Maintain

How to spell maintain

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce maintain

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does maintain mean?

1. verbTo keep something in good condition or cause it to continue at the same level.
2. verbTo state firmly that something is true, especially when others disagree.

Maintain in a sentence

• Regular servicing helps maintain the engine in good condition.

• The witness continued to maintain that she had seen nothing.

• The company tries to maintain a steady cash flow throughout the year.

• The manufacturers maintain that the product is completely safe.

Where does maintain come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the 1200s from the Old French maintenir, which meant to support, uphold, or keep going. The French verb was built from the Latin phrase manu tenere, literally meaning to hold in the hand; manus is the Latin word for hand and tenere is the verb to hold. From that very physical image of grasping something firmly grew the modern senses of keeping a thing in good order, preserving a state of affairs, and continuing to hold a position or opinion against challenge. The same tenere root that gives the -tain ending here also sits inside relatives like contain, retain, and detain, which is a useful clue to the spelling. Both syllables of maintain happen to use the ai vowel spelling, main and tain, and remembering the hand-holding origin (manu) helps fix that first ai in place.

How the word is built

• main- (from Latin manu, by hand)
• -tain (from Latin tenere, to hold)