Maintenance vs Maintainance: Difference and Comparison

Any language comprises many words, and there are certain cases in which certain words contradict one another due to a slight change in the spelling of the words or the pronunciation.

But in either case, it becomes very important to mark down all the differences between those words. A very classic example of such a case is the difference between maintenance and maintainance. 

Key Takeaways

1. “Maintenance” is the correct spelling, while “maintainance” is an incorrect spelling of the word.
2. Maintenance refers to keeping something in good condition or working order through regular care and repairs.
3. Maintainance is not recognized and should not be used in writing or conversation.

Maintenance vs Maintainance 

Maintenance is a word that refers to the act of preserving or restoring a system or equipment. It can involve routine tasks such as cleaning and inspection, as well as more complex tasks such as repairing or replacing components, while “maintenance” is a misspelling of maintenance.

The term maintenance in itself denotes that a particular machine or a particular thing is being taken care of, or in some other cases, it might refer to a particular legal remedy that is awarded to a wife after her separation from her husband in order to provide her a sustainable living.

This word is used widely in the English language by almost all English speakers to denote different meanings in different instances.  

But on the other hand, Maintainence is not a real word in English or any other language and simply happens to be a word with incorrect spelling.

This word has been used by many people due to certain confusion in the true meaning of word maintenance, and the former is no less than a big blunder in the grammatical rules of English. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Maintenance	Maintainance
Definition	The term happens to be a very crucial word in the English language and comprises many alternate meanings.	This term is another form of the term maintenance and comprises of a grammatical error.
Meaning	It refers to taking care of something or managing a particular thing.	There is no meaning of this particular term however it is used to refer to the same meaning that maintenance has.
Parts of speech	this term is a noun in itself but sometimes it may act as a verb or some other parts of speech as well	It falls under no parts of speech.
Alternative meaning	Alternatively, the meaning of this term also happens to be a legal remedy that is awarded to the wife of a person in order to provide her a chance of living fairly in the world.	No alternative meaning
Significance	This term holds utter significance in the English language because of the multiple meanings attached to it.	This term is significant for those who have used it for a long time however no grammatical significance is attached to it.

What is Maintenance? 

The term maintenance is a very crucial word of the English language, and in the very essential sense, it simply denotes taking care of something or managing a particular thing.

For example, maintenance of machine maintenance of a house or maintaining a car.  Apart from this particular meaning, this term also refers to a meaning that denotes someone is giving due attention and care to a particular asset after acquiring it, for example- maintaining a luxurious car after buying it.

However, the use of this particular word does not stop here, and it also refers to a particular legal remedy that falls under the law of torts and is awarded to a lady who has just been separated from her husband and needs to sustain by some economic means provided by the husband.  

In such a case, the term maintenance is used for the amount of alimony the woman receives from her husband and acquires a completely different meaning from its usual meaning. Therefore, it can be concluded that this word holds significance in the grammatical rules of the English language. 

What is Maintainance? 

The word maintenance of the English language is a very complicated one in itself, especially for the users who have opted for English as their second language or who do not have English as their native language.

The particular reason behind this complication is the spelling of this term is slightly complicated for someone who has just learned English and is unable to distinguish between certain syllables representing a particular sound.  

In such a case, there exists a particular probability of making a mistake in the spelling of the term, and this has prominently occurred in the past so many years that the term maintenance is sometimes used by certain people as “Maintainence.” In a nutshell, “Maintainence” is simply an erroneous form of maintenance. 

This error is very common in the use of the term maintenance at certain places that it has acquired the meaning of maintenance even after being a major grammatical error.

However, even after deviating from the original word by one or two letters, this word also denotes the exact same meaning that the actual word denotes. 

Main Differences Between Maintenance and Maintainance 

1. Maintenance is a noun of the English language, while on the other hand, Maintainence is just a word having a grammatical error in itself. 
2. Maintenance is a very significant word of the English language having multiple meanings at once, while on the other hand, Maintainence is just an alternate form of the term maintenance with a grammatical error. 
3. Maintenance is used to refer to something which is being taken care of, while on the other hand, Maintainence refers to nothing at all in its true sense. 
4. Maintenance is also used alternatively to represent a particular legal remedy while, on the other hand, Maintainence has no other alternate meaning attached to it. 
5. Maintainence is an incorrect form of the term maintenance and has come into existence due to erroneous use by certain people. 

References  

1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sdr.335 
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221716302399  

Last Updated : 13 July, 2023