-tən(t)s noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin subsistentia (translation of Greek hypostasis ), from subsistent-, subsistens (present participle of subsistere to exist, be) + Latin -ia
1.
a.
(1) : existence in reality : the condition of having substance or constituting an independent identifiable entity
an abstraction without real subsistence
(2) obsolete : condition or manner of existing
(3) : hypostasis 2
(4) archaic : something that exists in reality : a material or substantial entity
(5) : the condition of remaining in existence : persistence
(6) : inherency
subsistence of a quality in a body
b. Scholasticism
(1) : the mode by which substance becomes individualized
(2) : something in a reality by reason of which it is what it is
(3) : a singular rational component of the human personality that is wholly self-contained and endowed with inalienable rights
c.
(1) : the metaphysical status of something that subsists (sense 4b)
(2) : the character possessed by whatever is logically conceivable
2. : means of subsisting: as
a. : the irreducible minimum (as of food and shelter) necessary to support life
a barren land providing no more than subsistence
b. : a mode of obtaining or a source of the necessities of life : livelihood
his small patrimony was enough for a subsistence
won his subsistence dealing in the castoffs of other people
c. : a source or supply of food
their livestock was their sole subsistence
d. or subsistence money or subsistence allowance
(1) : money given in advance (as to a soldier or workman) to meet the basic needs of life while awaiting a payday
(2) : an allowance for expenses incurred in performance of a duty while temporarily away from one's residence
(3) : a cash allowance to a member of a military organization given in lieu of food
3. : the providing of the necessities to animal life : the furnishing of support
farming is no easy means of subsistence
Synonyms: see living