KEEP (3)

Keep, n. 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.
Often he used of his keep A sacrifice to bring. Spenser. 6. 6. (Mach.) A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.
To take keep, to take care; to heed. Chaucer.