sustineo

Sustineo, sustinere, sustinui, sustentum is second conjugation, subs- plus teneo, with the vowel weakening that Latin compounds always show: teneo gives -tineo, as in contineo and obtineo. It takes a plain accusative.

Physical and figurative sit next to each other without any change of construction. A column sustains a roof, a battle line sustains a charge, a man sustains grief or hunger, and God sustains the world. Two things to watch. The fourth principal part is sustentum, not the sustinitum a learner might build; and there is a separate first conjugation frequentative, sustento, sustentare, "keep on holding up", which is a different verb and not an alternative form of this one.