As a verb, to keep means to hold onto something, continue to have it, or continue doing something. As a noun, “keep” can mean the strongest inner part of a castle where people could stay safe.
From Old English “cēpan” meaning “to seize, hold, observe”. The noun sense of a castle’s “keep” grew from the idea of a place that is kept or guarded.
“Keep” quietly covers both protection and habit: you keep treasures and you keep doing routines. The castle “keep” is a physical version of the same idea—a last safe place. The word links emotional safety, physical safety, and time all in one syllable.
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