Maintain
Maintain , transitive verb
[Old English maintenen, French maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (Latin manus) + French tenir to hold (Latin tenere). See Manual, and Tenable.]
1.
To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.
2.
To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.
God values... every one as he maintains his post.
3.
To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.
Maintain talk with the duke.
4.
To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed.
Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life.
What maintains one vice would bring up two children.
5.
To affirm; to support or defend by argument.
It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it.