Keep

Keep, kēp, v.t. to have the care of: to guard: to maintain: to manage: to have in one's service: to hold for one's own use or enjoyment: to remain in: to adhere to: to practise: not to lose: to maintain hold upon: to restrain from departure: to preserve in a certain state: to maintain: to fulfill.—v.i. to remain in any position or state: to remain fresh: to last or endure: to continue: to adhere: to have rooms at college (Cambridge):—-pr.p. keep′ing; pa.t. and pa.p. kept.—n. that which keeps or protects: subsistence: food: the innermost and strongest part of a castle, the donjon: a stronghold.—ns. Keep′er, an attendant, manager, owner: a gamekeeper: socket, guard-ring; Keep′ership, office of a keeper; Keep′ing, care: custody: charge: (Shak.) maintenance, support: just proportion, harmony: (paint.) due proportion of light and shade; Keep′ing-room, a sitting-room, parlour; Keep′sake, something given to be kept for the sake of the giver—the name used often to be applied to the annuals or sumptuous gift-books so much in vogue about 1830.—Keep an act, to hold an academical disputation; Keep an eye on, Keep company, chapel, counsel, distance, hours, house, the peace, &c. (see the nouns); Keep a term (see Term); Keep at it, to persist in anything; Keep back, to withhold: keep down, to repress (see also Dark); Keep body and soul together, to maintain life; Keep down, to restrain; Keep from, to abstain from: to remain away from; Keep going in a thing, to keep one supplied with it; Keep in, to prevent from escaping: to confine a pupil in the schoolroom after school hours: to conceal: to restrain; Keep in with, to maintain the confidence or friendship of some one; Keep off, to hinder from approaching or making an attack; Keep one's countenance, to preserve a calm appearance, hiding one's emotions; Keep one's hand in, to retain one's skill by means of constant practice; Keep the breath to cool one's porridge, to confine attention to one's own affairs; Keep the powder dry, to keep one's energies ready for action; Keep to, to stick closely to: to confine one's self to; Keep under, to hold down in restraint; Keep up, to retain one's strength or spirit: to support, prevent from falling: to continue, to prevent from ceasing: to maintain in good condition. [A.S. cépan, orig. to traffic, hence to store up, keep—ceáp, price.]