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Webster 1913 Edition

Preserve

Pre-serve′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Preserved
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Preserving
.]
[F.
préserver
, 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.
Shakespeare
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.
Shakespeare
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
.

Pre-serve′

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To make preserves.
Shak.
2.
To protect game for purposes of sport.

Pre-serve′

,
Noun.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Preserve

PRESERVE

,
Verb.
T.
prezerv'. [Low L. proeservo; proe and servo, to keep.]
1.
To keep or save from injury or destruction; to defend from evil.
God did send me before you to preserve life. Gen.45.
O Lord, preserve me from the violent man. Ps. 140.
2.
To uphold; to sustain.
O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. Ps.36.
3.
To save from decay; to keep in a sound state; as, to preserve fruit in winter. Salt is used to preserve meat.
4.
To season with sugar or other substances for preservation; as, to preserve plums, quinces or other fruit.
5.
To keep or defend from corruption; as, to preserve youth from vice.

PRESERVE

,
Noun.
preserv'. Fruit or a vegetable seasoned and kept in sugar or sirup.

Definition 2024

preserve

preserve

See also: préserve, préservé, and preservé

English

Alternative forms

Noun

preserve ‎(countable and uncountable, plural preserves)

  1. A sweet spread made of any of a variety of berries.
  2. A reservation, a nature preserve.
    • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:
      Suppose Shakespeare had been knocked on the head some dark night in Sir Thomas Lucy's preserves, the world would have wagged on better or worse, the pitcher gone to the well, the scythe to the corn, and the student to his book; and no one been any the wiser of the loss.
  3. An activity with restricted access.
    • 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
      The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.

Translations

Usage notes

More often used in the plural, as strawberry preserves, but the form without the -s can also be used as the plural form, or to refer to a single type.

Synonyms

See also

Verb

preserve ‎(third-person singular simple present preserves, present participle preserving, simple past and past participle preserved)

  1. To protect; to keep from harm or injury.
    • Shakespeare
      Now, good angels preserve the king.
    • Yuri Gagarin
      Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it.
  2. To save from decay by the use of some preservative substance, such as as sugar or salt; to season and prepare (fruits, meat, etc.) for storage.
    to preserve peaches or grapes
  3. To maintain throughout; to keep intact.
    to preserve appearances; to preserve silence

Translations

Anagrams

Portuguese

Verb

preserve

  1. first-person singular present subjunctive of preservar
  2. third-person singular present subjunctive of preservar
  3. first-person singular imperative of preservar
  4. third-person singular imperative of preservar

Spanish

Verb

preserve

  1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of preservar.
  2. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of preservar.
  3. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of preservar.

Etymology

From Old French preserver, from Medieval Latin preservare ‎(“keep, preserve”), from Late Latin praeservare ‎(“guard beforehand”), present active infinitive of praeservo.

Pronunciation

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