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Added 9 October 2026

subsistence

/səbˈsɪstəns/ noun

Latin root: subsistentia Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about subsistence at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Real being; existence.
The act of maintaining oneself at a minimum level.
Inherency.
the subsistence of qualities in bodies

Origin

From Middle English subsistence; partly from Middle French subsistence (modern French subsistance) and partly from its etymon Late Latin subsistentia (“substance, reality, in Medieval Latin also stability”), from Latin subsistēns, present participle of subsistere (“to continue, subsist”). Perhaps also partly from subsist + -ence.

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

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