subsistence: Meaning and Definition of

sub•sist•ence

1. the state or fact of subsisting.
2. the state or fact of existing.
3. the providing of sustenance or support.
4. means of supporting life; a living or livelihood.
5. the source from which food and other items necessary to exist are obtained.
1. existence, especially of an independent entity.
2. the quality of having timeless or abstract existence.
3. mode of existence or that by which a substance is individualized.