The scheme by which the ministers of the Free Church of Scotland are supported by voluntary contributions not local or congregational, but with a national altruism or solidarity paid into a great central fund, out of which equal stipends are paid to all alike.
Origin
First attested in 1382: from the Old French sustentacion, from the Latin sustentātio, from sustentō; compare the Italian sostentazione, the Occitan sustentacion, the Portuguese sustentação, and the Spanish sustentación. sustentatio.
Modern English dictionary
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