subsistence
/səbˈsɪstəns/noun
subsistence is spelled S-U-B-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-E: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, subsistence means “Real being; existence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of subsistence is subsistences.
How many letters and syllables are in subsistence?
| Letters | 11: S-U-B-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is subsistence?
Subsistence appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce subsistence?
- /səbˈsɪstəns/
Subsistence has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-subsistence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of subsistence
- subsistences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subsistence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Real being; existence.
- 2
The act of maintaining oneself at a minimum level.
- 3
Inherency.
the subsistence of qualities in bodies
- 4
Something (food, water, money, etc.) that is required to stay alive.
- 5
Embodiment or personification or hypostasis of an underlying principle or quality.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subsistence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense means of support:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Auskommen, Lebensunterhalt |
| Portuguese | subsistência |
| Spanish | subsistencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does subsistence come from?
From Middle English subsistence; partly from Middle French subsistence (modern French subsistance) and partly from its etymon Late Latin subsistentia (“substance, reality, in Medieval Latin also stability”), from Latin subsistēns, present participle of subsistere (“to continue, subsist”). Perhaps also partly from subsist + -ence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).