preserve

Pronunciation: /pɹəˈzɜːv/

The English word “preserve” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

A sweet spread made of any of a variety of fruits.
A reservation, a nature preserve.
An exclusive area of activity.

verb

To protect; to keep from harm or injury.
To save from decay by the use of some preservative substance, such as sugar or salt; to season and prepare (fruits, meat, etc.) for storage.
To maintain throughout; to keep intact.

Etymology

From Middle English preserven, from Old French preserver, from Medieval Latin prēservāre (“keep, preserve”), from Late Latin praeservāre (“guard beforehand”), from prae (“before”, adverb) + servāre (“maintain, keep”). Displaced native Old English nerian.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.