Webster's English Dictionary

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subsistence

sub.sis.tence \s*b-'sis-t*n(t)s\ \-t*nt\ n [ME, fr. LL subsistentia, fr. 
   subsistent-, subsistens, prp. o]f subsistere 1a1: real being : EXISTENCE  
   1a2: CONTINUATION, PERSISTENCE  1a3: INHERENCY {~ of a quality in a body}  
   1b: something by which an individual is what it is  1c: the character 
   possessed by whatever is logically conceivable  2: means of subsisting : as 
    2a: the minimum (as of food and shelter) necessary to support life  2b: a 
   source or means of obtaining the necessities of life  - sub.sis.tent aj