Subsist

Subsist is a verb that means to continue to exist or to maintain oneself at a minimal level. It can refer to individuals or groups that survive with limited resources, to organisms that persist on scarce sustenance, or to communities and institutions that endure under hardship. The expression is commonly followed by on, as in subsist on bread and water, or subsist on a sparse diet.

Etymology: The word derives from Latin subsistere, meaning to stand under or endure, with the influence of Old French subsister. It entered English in the Middle Ages and acquired the sense of living at a minimal level under hardship.

Usage: In everyday language, subsist is most often used to describe basic survival with limited resources, such as subsisting on basic foods or a subsistence diet. In historical and anthropological contexts, it describes subsistence economies in which production and consumption center on basic needs rather than trade. In legal or formal writing, subsist can mean to continue to be in force or to exist in a particular state, such as the contract subsists.

Examples: The family subsisted on harvests from a small plot of land. During famine, communities subsisted on aid and shared resources. Some species subsist on specialized diets, such as herbivores subsisting on grasses.

See also: subsistence, subsistence farming, self-sufficiency.