Conservatory

How to spell conservatory

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce conservatory

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does conservatory mean?

1. nounA room with glass walls and roof, built onto a house, used for plants or as a sunlit sitting room.
2. nounA college or institution for advanced training in music or the performing arts.

Conservatory in a sentence

• They added a conservatory to the back of the house to enjoy the morning sun.

• She earned her violin diploma at a renowned conservatory in the city.

• The ferns thrive in the warm, humid conservatory all winter.

• The conservatory admits only a handful of pianists each year.

Where does conservatory come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb conservare, meaning 'to keep safe' or 'to preserve', which combines the intensifying prefix con- with servare, 'to guard or keep'. From it came the Latin and Italian conservatorio, a term applied in sixteenth-century Italy to charitable institutions that took in and 'preserved' orphans, who were often trained in music there; this is why a music school later became known as a conservatory. The horticultural sense grew in parallel: a conservatory was a glazed structure that preserved delicate plants from cold weather, much as a greenhouse conserves warmth. English adopted the word in the 1600s, drawing on both the Italian musical institutions and the Latin idea of preservation. The shared serv root also sits inside 'preserve', 'reserve', and 'conserve', and remembering that link helps fix the single 's' and the -atory ending that learners often mangle.

How the word is built

• con- (together, thoroughly)
• serv (from servare: to keep, save)
• -atory (place where something is done or kept)