conserve

conserve

See also: conservé

English

Etymology

From Middle English conserven, from Old French conserver, from Latin conservare (“to keep, preserve”), from com- (intensive prefix) + servo (“keep watch, maintain”). See also observe.

Pronunciation

Noun

• enPR: kŏn'sû(r)v, IPA^(key): /ˈkɒnsɜː(ɹ)v/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒnsɜː(ɹ)v

Verb

• enPR: kən-sû(r)v', IPA^(key): /kənˈsɜː(ɹ)v/

• Audio (US), verb

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)v

Noun

conserve (plural conserves)

1. Wilderness where human development is prohibited.
2. A jam or thick syrup made from fruit.
   • 1709 August 22 (Gregorian calendar)​, Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele et al.], “Thursday, August 11, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 53; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], volume I, London stereotype edition, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, OCLC 69947324:

     I shall […] study broths, plasters, and conserves, till from a fine lady I become a notable woman.

3. (obsolete) A medicinal confection made of freshly gathered vegetable substances mixed with finely powdered refined sugar.
4. (obsolete) A conservatory.
   • c. 1700, John Evelyn, Elysium Britannicum

     water […] alwayes placed in the Conserve

Translations

wilderness where human development is prohibited

Bulgarian: резерват m (rezervat) Dutch: reservaat (nl) n, natuurreservaat (nl) n Hungarian: természetvédelmi terület (hu) Macedonian: резерват m (rezervat) Portuguese: reserva (pt) f Spanish: parque nacional m

A jam or thick syrup made from fruit

Bulgarian: конфитюр m (konfitjur), сладко (bg) n (sladko) Hungarian: lekvár (hu), íz (hu), dzsem (hu)

Verb

conserve (third-person singular simple present conserves, present participle conserving, simple past and past participle conserved)

1. (transitive) To save for later use, sometimes by the use of a preservative.

   to conserve fruits with sugar

   • 1721, John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It, and the Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry VIII. King Edward VI. and Queen Mary the First. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: John Wyat, OCLC 728282467:

     the amity which […] they meant to conserve and maintain with the emperor

   • 1946 January and February, “The Why and The Wherefore: Condensing Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 62:

     Also the Russian lines over which these locomotives run pass through long stretches of waterless country, where the only alternative to hauling additional water-tank wagons is to conserve the water supply by condensing.

2. (transitive) To protect an environment, heritage, etc.
   • 2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The Network Rail Community Award: Saltash and Stow”, in RAIL, number 946, page 58:

     Two entrants shared this award for their work on two quite different stations, but with the same purpose of bringing a redundant station building back into use for the benefit of the community, with the added result of conserving an historic building. Saltash Town Council bought Saltash station building after it had become very decrepit and 'an eyesore' - such that it was nearly pulled down to make way for housing.

3. (physics, chemistry, intransitive) To remain unchanged during a process

Derived terms

• conservation
• conservative
• conservatory
• conserved sequence

Translations

to save for later use

Belarusian: кансервава́ць (kansjervavácʹ) Bulgarian: консервирам (bg) (konserviram), запазвам (bg) (zapazvam) Catalan: conservar (ca) Esperanto: konservi (eo) Finnish: säilöä (fi) Galician: conservar (gl) Ido: konservar (io) Italian: conservare (it) Japanese: 節約する (ja) (せつやくする, setsuyaku-suru) Latin: conservō (la) Neapolitan: stipà Polish: konserwować (pl) impf, zakonserwować pf Portuguese: conservar (pt) Russian: сохраня́ть (ru) impf (soxranjátʹ), сохрани́ть (ru) pf (soxranítʹ), консерви́ровать (ru) impf (konservírovatʹ), законсерви́ровать (ru) pf (zakonservírovatʹ) Spanish: reservar (es), conservar (es) Swahili: ifadhi (sw)

to protect

Bulgarian: защитавам (bg) (zaštitavam), опазвам (bg) (opazvam) Catalan: conservar (ca) Finnish: säilyke (fi) Galician: conservar (gl) Ido: konservar (io) Japanese: 保存する (ほぞんする, hozon-suru) Portuguese: conservar (pt) Russian: охраня́ть (ru) impf (oxranjátʹ), охрани́ть (ru) pf (oxranítʹ), защища́ть (ru) impf (zaščiščátʹ), защити́ть (ru) pf (zaščitítʹ) Spanish: conservar (es) Swahili: ifadhi (sw) Swedish: bevara (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

French: (please verify) conserver (fr) Malay: (please verify) melestarikan

Anagrams

• Cervones, Converse, converse, coveners, encovers

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French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

conserve f (plural conserves)

1. canned food, preserve

Derived terms

• boîte de conserve
• de conserve

 

Descendants

• → Turkish: konserve

Verb

conserve

1. inflection of conserver:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “conserve”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• recevons

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Italian

Noun

conserve f

1. plural of conserva

Anagrams

• converse, scernevo

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Latin

Noun

cōnserve

1. vocative singular of cōnservus

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Portuguese

Verb

conserve

1. inflection of conservar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

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Spanish

Verb

conserve

1. inflection of conservar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative