subsist
verb /səbˈsɪst/
/səbˈsɪst/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they subsist | /səbˈsɪst/ /səbˈsɪst/ |
| he / she / it subsists | /səbˈsɪsts/ /səbˈsɪsts/ |
| past simple subsisted | /səbˈsɪstɪd/ /səbˈsɪstɪd/ |
| past participle subsisted | /səbˈsɪstɪd/ /səbˈsɪstɪd/ |
| -ing form subsisting | /səbˈsɪstɪŋ/ /səbˈsɪstɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] subsist (on something) to manage to stay alive, especially with limited food or money
- Old people often subsist on very small incomes.
- [intransitive] (law) to exist; to apply and be relevant
- The terms of the contract subsist.
Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘continue to exist’): from Latin subsistere ‘stand firm’, from sub- ‘from below’ + sistere ‘set, stand’.