KEEP

Definitions

1. 1. The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge. Chaucer. Pan, thou god of shepherds all, Which of our tender lambkins takest keep. Spenser.
2. 2. The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case; as, to be in good keep.
3. 3. The means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance; support; as, the keep of a horse. Grass equal to the keep of seven cows. Carlyle. I performed some services to the college in return for my keep. T. Hughes.
4. 4. That which keeps or protects; a stronghold; a fortress; a castle; specifically, the strongest and securest part of a castle, often used as a place of residence by the lord of the castle, especially during a siege; the donjon. See Illust. of Castle. The prison strong, Within whose keep the captive knights were laid. Dryden. The lower chambers of those gloomy keeps. Hallam. I think . . . the keep, or principal part of a castle, was so called because the lord and his domestic circle kept, abode, or lived there. M. A. Lower.
5. 5. That which is kept in charge; a charge. [Obs.] Often he used of his keep A sacrifice to bring. Spenser.
6. 6. A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place. To take keep, to take care; to heed. [Obs.] Chaucer.