sustentō āvī, ātus, āre, freq.
sustineo, to hold up, hold upright, uphold, support, prop, sustain : fratrem dextrā, V.: aegre seque et arma, Cu.—Fig., to keep up, uphold, sustain, maintain, cherish, support, bear, uplift, preserve : imbecillitatem valetudinis tuae: valetudo sustentatur notitiā sui corporis: me una consolatio sustentat, quod, etc.: spes inopiam sustentabat, Cs.: Venus Troianas sustentat opes, V.— To feed, nourish, support, sustain, maintain : familiam, T.: idem (aër) spiritu ductus sustentat animantīs: se subsidiis patrimoni: eo (frumento) sustentata est plebs, L.: luxuriem domestico lenocinio.— To bear, hold out, endure, suffer : quorum auxiliis, si qua bella inciderint, sustentare consuerint, Cs.: macrorem doloremque: aegre is dies sustentatur, Cs.: aegre eo die sustentatum est, a defence was made , Cs.— To put off, defer, delay : aedificationem ad tuum adventum: id (malum) opprimi sustentando ac prolatando nullo pacto potest.— To check, hold back, restrain : milites, paulisper ab rege sustentati, S.