preserve

[pri-zurv] /prɪˈzɜrv/
verb (used with object), preserved, preserving.
1.
to keep alive or in existence; make lasting:
to preserve our liberties as free citizens.
2.
to keep safe from harm or injury; protect or spare.
3.
to keep up; maintain:
to preserve historical monuments.
4.
to keep possession of; retain:
to preserve one's composure.
5.
to prepare (food or any perishable substance) so as to resist decomposition or fermentation.
6.
to prepare (fruit, vegetables, etc.) by cooking with sugar, pickling, canning, or the like.
7.
to maintain and reserve (game, fish, etc.) for continued survival or for private use, as in hunting or fishing.
verb (used without object), preserved, preserving.
8.
to preserve fruit, vegetables, etc.; make preserves.
9.
to maintain a preserve for game or fish, especially for sport.
noun
10.
something that preserves.
11.
that which is preserved.
12.
Usually, preserves. fruit, vegetables, etc., prepared by cooking with sugar.
13.
a place set apart for protection and propagation of game or fish, especially for sport.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English preserven < Medieval Latin praeservāre to guard (Late Latin: to observe), equivalent to Latin prae- pre- + servāre to watch over, keep, preserve, observe
Related forms
preservable, adjective
preservability, noun
preservation
[prez-er-vey-shuh n] /ˌprɛz ərˈveɪ ʃən/ (Show IPA), noun
preserver, noun
nonpreservable, adjective
nonpreservation, noun
semipreserved, adjective
unpreservable, adjective
unpreserved, adjective
Synonyms
1. conserve. 2. safeguard, shelter, shield. See defend. 3. continue, uphold, sustain.
Antonyms
1. destroy.
Examples from the web for preserve
  • Summer's not the only time to pickle and preserve in-season ingredients.
  • Why do we need to colonize other planets to preserve our species?
  • Yes, and policy has attempted to preserve the old structure.
  • Panning for gold is allowed within the preserve but only with a gold pan.
  • Good ideas and innovation are not the preserve of senior management.
  • The Afghanistan government has worked recently to preserve its little-seen natural wonders and wildlife.
  • But without a conscious effort to preserve them, data slowly become the hieroglyphs of the future.
  • We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow.
  • Example of petroglyphs etched into the rock that can be found on the preserve.
  • Mangroves provide wood for fishing gear and housing, and their bark contains tannins that are used to preserve fishing nets.
British Dictionary definitions for preserve

preserve

/prɪˈzɜːv/
verb (mainly transitive)
1.
to keep safe from danger or harm; protect
2.
to protect from decay or dissolution; maintain: to preserve old buildings
3.
to maintain possession of; keep up: to preserve a façade of indifference
4.
to prevent from decomposition or chemical change
5.
to prepare (food), as by freezing, drying, or salting, so that it will resist decomposition
6.
to make preserves of (fruit, etc)
7.
to rear and protect (game) in restricted places for hunting or fishing
8.
(intransitive) to maintain protection and favourable conditions for game in preserves
noun
9.
something that preserves or is preserved
10.
a special area or domain: archaeology is the preserve of specialists
11.
(usually pl) fruit, etc, prepared by cooking with sugar
12.
areas where game is reared for private hunting or fishing
Derived Forms
preservable, adjective
preservability, noun
preservably, adverb
preservation (ˌprɛzəˈveɪʃən) noun
preserver, noun
Word Origin
C14: via Old French, from Late Latin praeservāre literally: to keep safe in advance, from Latin prae- before + servāre to keep safe
Word Origin and History for preserve
v.

late 14c., "keep safe," from Anglo-French preservare, Old French preserver, from Medieval Latin preservare "keep, preserve," from Late Latin praeservare "guard beforehand," from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + servare "to keep safe" (see observe). As a treatment of fruit, etc., 1570s; of organic bodies from 1610s. Related: Preserved; preserving.

n.

"fruit preserved with sugar," c.1600, from preserve (v.). Earlier it meant "a preservative" (1550s). Sense of "protected place for animals or plants" (a sense more properly belonging to conserve) is from 1807.