Maintain | Vocabulary | Khan Academy

Ahoy word Smiths! Hold fast because this word is about keeping it steady.

As she goes, "maintain" is the featured word. Oh, I maintain a steady course. Word Smith's maintain, it's a verb; it means to keep something the same, to provide support for something.

So, to maintain a course, if you're steering a vessel, is to keep us going in the same direction. You might also see it as "maintenance," which is the noun form.

Now, this word comes to us through French, but ultimately from Latin. "Maintain" comes from "Manu ten," to hold in the hand. Uh, and so "man" means hand, and "ten" or "tain" means hold.

When you're maintaining something, you're putting your hands on it; you're holding on to it to keep it steady in some way. Although you don't always have to literally put your hands on something to maintain it.

Let's take those two word parts, "Main" and "10" or "Tain," and see what we can make out of them. I'll put on some music, and you and I will go, go and think about some related words. 10 seconds, here we go!

All right, here's what I've got: "manuscript," which is a handwritten document. Right, means to write. "Manu" means hand; a handwritten thing.

"Abstain"—"AB" means from, and "Tain" means to hold. To abstain from something is to hold back. I'm abstaining from tackle football because I bruise easily.

"Manipulate"—this word means to handle or control something or someone as though you're controlling it with your hands. It can be both literal and figurative. You can manipulate a device by pushing its buttons, or you can manipulate a person by trying to control them in a sneaky way.

Now let us push the button labeled "example sentences" to see what "maintain" looks like in context.

To maintain the balance in her garden soil, Vanessa added eggshells to her compost pile. So she's trying to keep things steady in the compost pile; she's trying to make sure the mix of nutrients is right to make good soil.

Uh, but let's also talk about maintenance, which usually has a mechanical meaning, like keeping a vehicle in good condition.

Ah, that's a fine motorbike! An antique motorcycle requires constant maintenance. You have to be cleaning and oiling and working on it all the time. That's maintenance—keeping it in steady working condition.

Keep your minds in steady working condition, wordsmiths. Hands on the tiller, eyes on the horizon, love the mainsail, other boat things.

You can learn anything. David out.