preserve definition | Dictionary.com

pre⋅serve

[pri-zurv]

verb, -served, -serv⋅ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

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)

8.	to preserve fruit, vegetables, etc.; make preserves.

9.	to maintain a preserve for game or fish, esp. 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, esp. for sport.

Origin:
1325–75; ME preserven < ML praeservāre to guard (LL: to observe), equiv. to L prae- pre- + servāre to watch over, keep, preserve, observe

Related forms:

pre⋅serv⋅a⋅ble, adjective

pre⋅serv⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

pres⋅er⋅va⋅tion [prez-er-vey-shuh

, noun

pre⋅serv⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. conserve. 2. safeguard, shelter, shield. See defend. 3. continue, uphold, sustain.

Antonyms:
1. destroy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To preserve

pre·serve (prĭ-zûrv')

v. pre·served, pre·serv·ing, pre·serves

v. tr.

To maintain in safety from injury, peril, or harm; protect.
To keep in perfect or unaltered condition; maintain unchanged.
To keep or maintain intact: tried to preserve family harmony. See Synonyms at defend.
To prepare (food) for future use, as by canning or salting.
To prevent (organic bodies) from decaying or spoiling.
To keep or protect (game or fish) for one's private hunting or fishing.

v. intr.

To treat fruit or other foods so as to prevent decay.
To maintain a private area stocked with game or fish.

Something that acts to preserve; a preservative.
Fruit cooked with sugar to protect against decay or fermentation. Often used in the plural.
An area maintained for the protection of wildlife or natural resources.
Something considered as being the exclusive province of certain persons: Ancient Greek is the preserve of scholars.

[Middle English preserven, from Old French preserver, from Medieval Latin praeservāre, from Late Latin, to observe beforehand : Latin prae-, pre- + Latin servāre, to guard, preserve; see ser-¹ in Indo-European roots.]
pre·serv'a·bil'i·ty n., pre·serv'a·ble adj., pres'er·va'tion (prěz'ər-vā'shən) n., pre·serv'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Preserve

Pre*serve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preserved; p. pr. & vb. n. Preserving.] [F. pr['e]server, from L. prae before + servare to save, preserve; cf. L. praeservare to observe beforehand. See Serve.]

1. To keep or save from injury or destruction; to guard or defend from evil, harm, danger, etc.; to protect.

O Lord, thou preserved man and beast. --Ps. xxxvi. 6.

Now, good angels preserve the king. --Shak.

2. To save from decay by the use of some preservative substance, as sugar, salt, etc.; to season and prepare for remaining in a good state, as fruits, meat, etc.; as, to preserve peaches or grapes.

You can not preserve it from tainting. --Shak.

3. To maintain throughout; to keep intact; as, to preserve appearances; to preserve silence.

To preserve game, to protect it from extermination.

Syn: To keep; save; secure; uphold; sustain; defend; spare; protect; guard; shield. See Keep.

Preserve

Pre*serve"\, v. i. 1. To make preserves. --Shak.

2. To protect game for purposes of sport.

Preserve

Pre*serve"\, n. 1. That which is preserved; fruit, etc., seasoned and kept by suitable preparation; esp., fruit cooked with sugar; -- commonly in the plural.

2. A place in which game, fish, etc., are preserved for purposes of sport, or for food.

Language Translation for : preserve

Spanish: proteger, guardar,

German: bewahren,

Japanese: 保護する

More Translations »

preserve (v.)

1375, from O.Fr. preserver, from M.L. preservare "keep, preserve," from L.L. præservare "guard beforehand," from L. præ- "before" + servare "to keep safe" (see observe). The noun sense of "fruit preserved with sugar" is from 1600; that of "protected place for animals or plants" (a sense more properly belonging to conserve) is from 1807. Preservationist "advocate of protecting historic property" is recorded from 1927. Preservative (adj.) is attested from 1398; the noun sense of "chemical added to foods to keep them from rotting" is from 1875.

Main Entry: pre·serve
Pronunciation: pri-'z&rv
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: pre·served; pre·serv·ing
1 : to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction preserve the property>
2 a : to keep valid, intact, or in existence (as pending a proceeding) preserved —U.S. Constitution amendment VII> preserved in the case —J. H. Williamson> b : to maintain for use or consideration at a later time esp. by keeping a record of preserve her testimony> preserving the objection raised —J. H. Friedenthal et al.> —pres·er·va·tion /"pre-z&r-'vA-sh&n/ noun

Main Entry: pre·serve
Pronunciation: pri-'z&rv
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: pre·served; pre·serv·ing
1 : to keep alive, intact, or free from decay
2 : to keep or save from decomposition

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