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Added 9 October 2026

maintenance

/ˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns/ noun

In Latin: tuitiō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about maintenance at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Activity involved in maintaining something in good working order.
he wrote the manual on car care
Means of maintenance of a family or group.
Court-ordered support paid by one spouse to another after they are separated.

Origin

From Middle English mayntenaunce, from Old French maintenance, from maintenir, from Latin manus tenēre (“to hold in the hand”). By surface analysis, maintain + -ance. Note that maintain has undergone a sound and spelling change, hence is spelt with -tain-, rather than the -ten- still found in maintenance.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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