Sus"te*nance (?), n. [OF. sustenance, sostenance, soustenance: cf. L. sustenentia endurance. See Sustain.]
1.
The act of sustaining; support; maintenance; subsistence; as, the sustenance of the body; the sustenance of life.
2.
That which supports life; food; victuals; provisions; means of living; as, the city has ample sustenance.
"A man of little
sustenance."
Chaucer.
For lying is thy sustenance, thy food.
Milton.
© Webster 1913.