means To support yourself upright on your feet, or to put something in an upright position — and by extension to hold a firm position, occupy a place, or endure.

from From Old English 'standan,' rooted in the Proto-Germanic '*standanan' and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European base '*sta-,' meaning 'to stand, to be firm.' That single ancient root is one of language's great overachievers — it's a cousin of Latin 'stare' (giving us 'stable,' 'statue,' 'status'), Greek 'histemi,' and a sprawling family across Indo-European tongues. So when you stand, you're flexing one of the oldest words humans have for staying put.