noun

sustenance

SUS-tuh-nuns/ˈsʌstənəns/

Nourishment or support needed to sustain life.

The bread, bean soup, vegetables, and water provide sustenance.

A simple meal of bread, bean soup, vegetables, and water supplies nourishment.

Etymology

susLatinup from below

+tenLatinto hold

+anceLatinstate or action

“Holding up from below” supplies the image of support that keeps something from failing. Sustenance applies that support to life itself: food, nourishment, or the means needed to keep living.

In context

Minnesota PBS2:22

you needed food for your own sustenance but you also wanted to find something you could sell and wheat was the obvious answer

Flour Power | Full Documentary

More examples

Infants depend on milk for sustenance.
Birds find sustenance in seeds and insects.
The family relies on a small pension for sustenance.

Forms

sustain verb — To keep alive or provide needed support.

Similar words

nourishment: Emphasizes food and nutrients rather than broader life support.
food: Refers to what is eaten, not other essential support.
subsistence: Emphasizes having just enough resources to stay alive.