Maintenance
| n. | 1. | The act of maintaining; sustenance; support; defense; vindication. | |||
| 2. | That which maintains or supports; means of sustenance; supply of necessaries and conveniences. | ||||
| 3. | (Crim. Law) An officious or unlawful intermeddling in a cause depending between others, by assisting either party with money or means to carry it on. See Champerty. | ||||
| 4. | Those actions required for the care of machinery, a building, etc., to keep it clean and in proper functioning condition, and to prevent or forestall damage due to normal use. | ||||
| 5. | Payments, such as child support or alimony, to a dependent child not living with one or to a divorced wife.
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| Noun | 1. |  maintenance - activity involved in maintaining something in good working order; "he wrote the manual on car care" |
| 2. | maintenance - means of maintenance of a family or group | |
| 3. | maintenance - court-ordered support paid by one spouse to another after they are separated Synonyms: alimony | |
| 4. | maintenance - the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence; "they were in want of sustenance"; "fishing was their main sustainment" |
MAINTENANCE, crimes. A malicious, or at least, officious interference in a
suit in which the offender has no interest, to assist one of the parties to
it against the other, with money or advice to prosecute or defend the
action, without any authority of law. 1 Russ. Cr. 176.
2. But there are many acts in the nature of maintenance, which become
justifiable from the circumstances under which they are done. They may be
justified, 1. Because the party has an interest in the thing in variance; as
when he has a bare contingency in the lands in question, which possibly may
never come in esse. Bac. Ab. h.t. 2. Because the party is of kindred or
affinity, as father, son, or heir apparent, or husband or wife. 3. Because
the relation of landlord and tenant or master and servant subsists between
the party to the suit and the person who assists him. 4. Because the money
is given out of charity. 1 Bailey, S. C. Rep. 401. 5. Because the person
assisting the party to the suit is an attorney or counsellor: the assistance
to be rendered must, however, be strictly professional, for a lawyer is not
more justified in giving his client money than another man. 1 Russ. Cr. 179.
Bac. Ab Maintenance: Bro. Maintenance. This offence is punishable by fine
and imprisonment. 4 Black Com. 124; 2 Swift's Dig. 328; Bac. Ab. h.t. Vide 3
Hawks, 86; 1 Greenl. 292; 11 Mass. 553, 6 Mass. 421; 5 Pick. 359; 5 Monr.
413; 6 Cowen, 431; 4 Wend. 806; 14 John. R. 124; 3 Cowen, 647; 3 John. Ch.
R. 508 7 D. & R. 846; 5 B. & C. 188.
MAINTENANCE, quasi contracts. The support which one person, who is bound by law to do so, gives to another for his living; for example, a father is bound to find maintenance for his children; and a child is required by law to maintain his father or mother when they cannot support themselves, and he has ability to maintain them. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 284-6.
| (programming) | maintenance - The modification of a software product, after
delivery, to correct faults, to improve performance or other
attributes, or to adapt the product to a changed environment. Maintenance is an important part of the software life-cycle. It is expensive in manpower and resources, and one of the aims of software engineering is to reduce its cost. |