Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Support in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels support as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Support

[F. supporter, L. supportare to carry on, to convey, in LL., to support, sustain; sub under + portare to carry. See Port demeanor.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordsupport
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[F. supporter, L. supportare to carry on, to convey, in LL., to support, sustain; sub under + portare to carry. See Port demeanor.]
Selected historical definitionTo bear by being under; to keep from falling; to uphold; to sustain, in a literal or physical sense; to prop up; to bear the weight of; as, a pillar supports a structure; an abutment supports an arch; the trunk of a tree supports the branches.
Signed record IDwebster1913-support-verb-626ebd636e75
Source locatorCIDE.S, paragraph 24300; Gutenberg eBook 668
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 668Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "support" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[F. supporter, L. supportare to carry on, to convey, in LL., to support, sustain; sub under + portare to carry. See Port demeanor.]" The selected historical definition says: "To bear by being under; to keep from falling; to uphold; to sustain, in a literal or physical sense; to prop up; to bear the weight of; as, a pillar supports a structure; an abutment supports an arch; the trunk of a tree supports the branches."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released S records

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adjective

Still

[OE. stille, AS. stille; akin to D. stil, OS. & OHG. stilli, G. still, Dan. stille, Sw. stilla, and to E. stall; from the idea of coming to a stand, or halt. Cf. Still, adv.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Season

[OE. sesoun, F. saison, properly, the sowing time, fr. L. satio a sowing, a planting, fr. serere, satum, to sow, plant; akin to E. sow, v., to scatter, as seed.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Story

[OE. storie, OF. estoire, F. histoire, fr. L. historia. See History.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Single

[L. singulus, a dim. from the root in simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. See Simple, and cf. Singular.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Several

[OF., fr. LL. separalis, fr. L. separ separate, different. See Sever, Separate.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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