Etymologically
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reservation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌrez.əˈveɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌrez.ɚˈveɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English reservacioun, borrowed from Middle French reservation and directly Late Latin reservātiō,[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of Latin reservō (“to keep back, save up”) (see reserve), from re- (“back”) and servō (“to keep, save, protect”),[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to protect”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In church use, the reserving of something as a tithe: about 1380.[5] Etymonline gives the act of reserving or keeping back, late 14th century,[2] and the NODE the Pope's right to nominate to a benefice.[4]

Semantic evolution

In law, the keeping of some right for oneself is from 1487,[5] and reserving a right or power in general from 1605.[5] A mental reservation, a qualification not openly expressed, is from about 1600.[2] In the United States a tract of public land set aside for a special use, especially for Native peoples, is from 1789, of the Six Nations in New York State.[2][5] The booking of a room or seat is from 1904 in Etymonline, 1906 in the OED, also first in American English.[2][5] Exemption from military service for an important civilian job is from 1916.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – reserving as a tithe.[5]
  • 1487 – a right reserved (law).[5]
  • c. 1600 – mental reservation.[2]
  • 1789 – a tract of land (US).[2][5]
  • 1904 – booking a room or seat.[2]
  • 1916 – exemption from military service.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of reserving; a keeping back or withholding.
  2. An arrangement by which a room, seat or table is kept for someone; a booking.
  3. A limiting qualification or doubt, often in the plural: to have reservations.
  4. A tract of land set apart, especially in the United States for Native American peoples.
  5. (law) A right or interest kept back in a grant.

Word family

  • reservationist
  • nonreservation
  • mental reservation

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press