different between countenance vs sustain
countenance
English
Alternative forms
- countenaunce (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English contenaunce, countenaunce, from Anglo-Norman countenance and Old French contenance, from the present participle of contenir, or from Late Latin continentia, and therefore a doublet of continence.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /?ka?n.t?.n?ns/, /?ka?n.t?n.?ns/, /?ka?nt.n?ns/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): [k??æ??.???.n?ns]
Noun
countenance (countable and uncountable, plural countenances)
- Appearance, especially the features and expression of the face.
- , Genesis 4:5
- But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
- , Genesis 4:5
- Favour; support; encouragement.
- September 8, 1706, Francis Atterbury, a sermon
- This is the magistrate's peculiar province, to give countenance to piety and virtue, and to rebuke vice.
- September 8, 1706, Francis Atterbury, a sermon
- (obsolete) Superficial appearance; show; pretense.
- c. 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster
- The election being done, he made countenance of great discontent thereat.
- c. 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster
- Calm facial expression, composure, self-control.
Synonyms
- see also Thesaurus:countenance
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Verb
countenance (third-person singular simple present countenances, present participle countenancing, simple past and past participle countenanced)
- (transitive) To tolerate, support, sanction, patronise or approve of something.
- The cruel punishment was countenanced by the government, although it was not officially legal.
- 1937, Willa Muir and Edwin Muir (translators), The Trial, (Der Prozess 1925, Franz Kafka), Vintage Books (London), pg. 99
- For the Defence was not actually countenanced by the Law, but only tolerated, and there were differences of opinion even on that point, whether the Law could be interpreted to admit such tolerances at all.
Synonyms
- (tolerate, support): approve, sanction, support, tolerate
Translations
References
- countenance in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- countenance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Old French
Alternative forms
- contenance
- contennaunce
- continance
Etymology
From contenant, the present participle of contenir, with the suffix -ance, corresponding to Late Latin continentia. See also continence.
Noun
countenance f (oblique plural countenances, nominative singular countenance, nominative plural countenances)
- (Anglo-Norman) appearance; countenance
- e moustre par contenance q'il ad honte de ceo q'il ad fet
- And he showed by his appearance that he was ashamed of what he had done.
- e moustre par contenance q'il ad honte de ceo q'il ad fet
Related terms
- contenant
- contenir
Descendants
- English: countenance
- French: contenance
References
- contenance on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
countenance From the web:
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sustain
English
Etymology
From Middle English susteinen, sustenen, from Old French sustenir (French soutenir), from Latin sustine?, sustin?re (“to uphold”), from sub- (“from below, up”) + tene? (“hold”, verb).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s??ste?n/
- Hyphenation: sus?tain
- Rhymes: -e?n
Verb
sustain (third-person singular simple present sustains, present participle sustaining, simple past and past participle sustained)
- (transitive) To maintain, or keep in existence.
- The professor had trouble sustaining students’ interest until the end of her lectures.
- The city came under sustained attack by enemy forces.
- 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part Two, Chapter 9,[1]
- All the beliefs, habits, tastes, emotions, mental attitudes that characterize our time are really designed to sustain the mystique of the Party and prevent the true nature of present-day society from being perceived.
- (transitive) To provide for or nourish.
- provisions to sustain an army
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Nehemiah 9:21,[2]
- Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
- 1937, Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana, London: Macmillan, Part 2, p. 59,[3]
- We rode five farsakhs today, sustained by a single bowl of curds and tortured by the wooden saddles.
- (transitive) To encourage or sanction (something). (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)
- (transitive) To experience or suffer (an injury, etc.).
- The building sustained major damage in the earthquake.
- c. 1612, William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, Henry VIII, Act III, Scene 2,[4]
- […] if you omit
- The offer of this time, I cannot promise
- But that you shall sustain moe new disgraces,
- With these you bear already.
- 1697, John Dryden (translator), The Aeneid, Book 7, lines 592-593, in The Works of Virgil, London: Jacob Tonson, p. 418,[5]
- Shall Turnus then such endless Toil sustain,
- In fighting Fields, and conquer Towns in vain:
- (transitive) To confirm, prove, or corroborate; to uphold.
- to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition
- 1876, Henry Martyn Robert, Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies, Chicago: Griggs, 1885, Section 61 (e), p. 167,[6]
- After the vote is taken, the Chairman states that the decision of the Chair is sustained, or reversed, as the case may be.
- To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support.
- A foundation sustains the superstructure; an animal sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight.
- To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate.
- c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act III, Scene 3,[7]
- When I desir’d their leave that I might pity him, they took from me the use of mine own house, charg’d me on pain of perpetual displeasure neither to speak of him, entreat for him, nor any way sustain him.
- 1697, John Dryden (translator), The Aeneid, Book 6, lines 1122-1123, in The Works of Virgil, London: Jacob Tonson, p. 395,[8]
- His Sons, who seek the Tyrant to sustain,
- And long for Arbitrary Lords again,
- c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act III, Scene 3,[7]
Derived terms
- sustainable
- sustainedly
- sustaining
Related terms
Translations
Noun
sustain (plural sustains)
- (music) A mechanism which can be used to hold a note, as the right pedal on a piano.
- 2011, Chuck Eddy, Rock and Roll Always Forgets (page 265)
- To call this music bland is to ignore the down-the-drain vocal fade-aways, the extended sax sustains […]
- 2011, Chuck Eddy, Rock and Roll Always Forgets (page 265)
Anagrams
- issuant
sustain From the web:
- what sustains the planet in place
- what sustainability
- what sustains a fire
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