From Latin 'manus' (hand) + 'tenere' (to hold) — literally 'to hold in the hand.'
To cause or enable something to continue; to keep in good condition by checking or repairing; to assert something as true.
From Old French 'maintenir' (to keep up, to sustain, to hold by hand), from Medieval Latin 'manutenere' (to hold in the hand, to keep possession of), a compound of Latin 'manus' (hand) + 'tenere' (to hold). Latin 'manus' derives from PIE *man- (hand), which also gives 'manual,' 'manufacture' (to make by hand), 'manuscript,' and 'manage.' Latin 'tenere' derives from PIE *ten- (to stretch, to hold