pr. pple. and a. rare. [In A., a. OF. sustenant, pr. pple. of sustenir to SUSTAIN; in B., f. SUSTENANCE: see -ANT.]

1

  † A.  pr. pple. Supporting, encouraging. Obs.

2

c. 1386.  Chaucer, Pars. T., ¶ 366 (MS. Egerton 2726). Sustenaunt [Ellesm. sustenynge] the theft of her Ostillers.

3

  B.  adj. Sustaining. Const. to, of.

4

1874.  M. Collins, Transmigr., II. vi. 106. The flowers are sustenant and medicinal.

5

1897.  F. Thompson, Poems, Anthem of Earth, 147. Mother, I at last Shall sustenant be to thee.

6

1908.  Edin. Rev., Oct., 485–6. It is to this tendency of the mood of æsthetic contemplation selectively to harmonise appearances and meanings alike, so as to make them congruous with it and sustenant of it, that the best art appeals.

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