noun

subsistence

sub-SIS-tuns/səbˈsɪstəns/

Continued survival with only the basic necessities of life

Bread, beans, water, and a simple blanket provide just enough for subsistence.

Bare subsistence provisions: one small loaf, bowl of beans, water jug, folded simple blanket together on white; minimal basic life support, no feast or decorative abundance.

Etymology

subLatinunder, up to

+sistLatinstand firm, remain

+enceLatinstate or condition

The combined roots conveyed standing firm or remaining. From continuing to exist, subsistence came to mean support for physical life, then the bare means of keeping alive.

In context

JenTalks4:03

there are in some cases a lot of surplus resources and in other cases very few and they're really living hand-to-mouth also in terms of quality of life in these subsistence types

Jen Talk: Making a Living / Subsistence Strategies Part 1: An Overview

More examples

Her wages barely keep the family at subsistence level.
Subsistence farming provides enough food to live on, with little left to sell.
They hope for a comfortable life rather than mere subsistence.

Forms

subsistence

subsist verb — To survive with only basic necessities.

Similar words

survival: Means staying alive, without necessarily lacking comforts or resources.
existence: Refers broadly to being alive or real, without implying deprivation.