• vt. 保持；经营；遵守；饲养
• vi. 保持；继续不断
• n. 保持；生计；生活费
• n. (Keep)人名；(英)基普

来自古英语cepan,抓住，握住，保持，观察，来自Proto-Germanic*kopijan,看，注视，来自PIE*gab,照看，看管。比较hold,behold.

keep

keep: [OE] For all that it is one of the commonest verbs in the language, remarkably little is known about the history of keep. It first appears in texts around the year 1000. It is assumed to have existed before then, but not to have belonged to a sufficiently ‘literary’ level of the language to have been written down. Nor has a link been established for certain with any words in other Germanic languages, although suggestions that have been put forward include Old High German kuofa ‘barrel’ (a relative of English coop), from the notion of its being something for ‘keeping’ things in, and also (since in the late Old English period keep was used for ‘watch’) Old Norse kópa ‘stare’.

keep (v.)

late Old English cepan "to seize, hold," also "to observe," from Proto-Germanic *kopijan, but with no certain connection to other languages. It possibly is related to Old English capian "to look," from Proto-Germanic *kap- (cepan was used c. 1000 to render Latin observare), which would make the basic sense "to keep an eye on."

The word prob. belongs primarily to the vulgar and non-literary stratum of the language; but it comes up suddenly into literary use c. 1000, and that in many senses, indicating considerable previous development. [OED]

Sense of "preserve, maintain" is from mid-14c. Meaning "to maintain in proper order" is from 1550s; meaning "financially support and privately control" (usually in reference to mistresses) is from 1540s. Related: Kept; keeping.

keep (n.)

mid-13c., "care or heed in watching," from keep (v.). Meaning "innermost stronghold of a tower" is from 1580s, perhaps a translation of Italian tenazza, with a notion of "that which keeps" (someone or something); the sense of "food required to keep a person or animal" is attested from 1801. For keeps "completely, for good" is American English colloquial, from 1861.

1. Remember, keep a positive attitude and good things will happen.

记住：保持乐观的心态，好事自然会发生。

来自美剧《摩登家庭》

2. A fellow doesn't last long on what he has done. He's got to keep on delivering as he goes along.--Carl Hubbell, Baseball Player

靠过去完成的无法让人保有成功，必须在路上持续交出成绩。

来自金山词霸 每日一句

3. Llewelyn was mounting the stairs up into the keep.

卢埃林登上台阶，走进城堡主楼。

来自柯林斯例句

4. When you are sitting, keep your elbow on the arm rest.

坐立时，把胳膊肘靠在扶手上。

来自柯林斯例句

5. It's a constant struggle to try to keep them up to par.

要让他们达标，需要不断努力。

来自柯林斯例句