Preserved

How to spell preserved

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce preserved

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does preserved mean?

1. verbKept something safe, intact, or free from decay over time.
2. adjectiveMaintained in its original or treated state, especially food kept from spoiling.

Preserved in a sentence

• verb

  The dry climate preserved the ancient documents almost perfectly.

• adjective

  The pantry was stacked with jars of preserved fruit.

• verb

  Freezing the berries preserved their colour and flavour for months.

• adjective

  The museum displayed a remarkably well preserved Roman mosaic.

Where does preserved come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin praeservare, which joined prae, meaning 'before' or 'beforehand', to servare, meaning 'to keep, guard, or watch over'. The original idea was to guard something in advance against harm or decay. English took it up in the late 1300s through Old French preserver, at first in the sense of protecting people or things from danger or destruction. From there it broadened to the familiar modern meanings of keeping food from spoiling and keeping records, buildings, or memories intact. The same servare root sits inside relatives such as 'conserve', 'reserve', and 'observe', all of which share the notion of keeping or watching. Knowing that the middle is serv (to keep), not serve in any other sense, helps fix the single s and the v before the -ed ending.

How the word is built

• pre- (before, beforehand)
• serv (from Latin servare: to keep, guard, watch over)
• -ed (past tense / participle suffix)