'maintain' originates from Latin, specifically the phrase 'manu tenēre', where 'manu-' meant 'hand' and 'tenēre' meant 'to hold'; 'status quo' originates from Latin, specifically the words 'status' meaning 'state' and 'quo' meaning 'in which'.

'maintain' changed from Old French word 'maintenir' (which came from Latin 'manu tenēre') and eventually became the modern English word 'maintain'; 'status quo' came directly into English from the Latin phrase 'status quo'.

Initially, 'manu tenēre' meant 'to hold in the hand', but over time it evolved into the sense 'to keep or preserve' and now contributes to compounds meaning 'to preserve the current state'; 'status quo' originally meant 'the state in which' and has retained its meaning as 'the existing state of affairs'.