Reserve

How to spell reserve

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce reserve

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reserve mean?

1. verbTo set something aside or arrange to keep it for a particular person or purpose.
2. nounA supply of something kept back for use when it is needed.
3. nounAn area of land set aside to protect wildlife or natural habitat.
4. nounA quality of self-restraint or reluctance to show feelings openly.

Reserve in a sentence

• verb

  Please reserve a table for four at the restaurant.

• noun

  The country keeps a large oil reserve for emergencies.

• noun

  The nature reserve is home to several rare bird species.

• noun

  He spoke with a natural reserve that made him hard to read.

• verb

  The airline lets you reserve a seat online before the flight.

• noun

  She dipped into her cash reserve to cover the repair bill.

Where does reserve come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin reservare, which combined the prefix re-, meaning 'back', with servare, meaning 'to keep, guard, or watch over'. The literal sense was therefore 'to keep back' or 'to hold something in store for later'. It travelled into English through Old French reserver during the 1300s, at first in religious and legal settings where rights or privileges were kept back for a particular person. From the verb came the noun, covering everything from money set aside, to a tract of protected land, to the quiet self-restraint of a person who keeps their feelings back. The same servare root sits inside 'conserve', 'preserve', and 'observe', a family connection that explains the single s and the -serve spelling here.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• serve (from Latin servare: to keep, guard)