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subsistence
subsistence definition
sub·sist·ence (-sis′təns)
noun
- existence; being; continuance
- the act of providing sustenance
- means of support or livelihood; often, specif., the barest means in terms of food, clothing, and shelter needed to sustain life
- the quality of being inherent
- Philos.
- the status of something that exists in itself as an individual whole
- the status of something whose very act of existing is its essence, as God
- the quality of being logically conceivable
Etymology: ME < LL(Ec) subsistentia < L subsister: see subsist
Related Forms:
- subsistent sub·sist′·ent adjective
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