conserver

Forms

conserver^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōnservō (“to keep safe, preserve; to observe”), formed from con- and servō (“to save, keep, preserve”), whose senses it took over.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The simple Latin verb lives on in French through its other compounds, observer, préserver and réserver.^[3]

Compare Old Occitan conservar, Spanish conservar and Italian conservare.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Strasbourg Oaths (842), meaning “to keep (an oath)”, a sense later taken over by observer.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense “to keep carefully” dates from the early 15th century.^[2][3] In the 16th century conserver quelqu'un de quelque chose meant “to protect someone from something” (Palsgrave, 1530: Dieu vous conserve de tous maulx “God keep you from all ills”), a use left to préserver from the 17th century.^[2][3] The verb spread with the sense “to keep in good condition, intact”, of a person's health (1530), of something abstract, such as one's honour, or of something concrete, such as fruit.^[3][2]

The noun conserve (1359) was used from its first records for food, which suggests that the verb had the corresponding sense in the 14th century.^[3] In the 16th century, after conserver “to sail keeping (another ship) in sight”, conserve named an escorting ship (1552), whence naviguer de conserve (1559) and the everyday de conserve “together”.^[3]

Timeline

• 842 – “To keep (an oath)”, in the Strasbourg Oaths.^[2]
• 1284 – Earliest Anglo-Norman record.^[8]
• 1359 – The noun conserve.^[3]
• Early 15th century – “To keep carefully”.^[2]
• 1530 – Palsgrave records “to protect from” and “to keep in good health”.^[2]
• 1559 – Naviguer de conserve.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To keep in good condition, preserve from damage or decay: conserver sa santé; of food, conserver des fruits;^[9] se conserver, to keep: le fromage se conserve au frais.^[9][5]
2. To keep in a given state: conserver intacte sa réputation.^[9]
3. To keep, maintain, make last: conserver un souvenir, conserver son emploi.^[9][1]
4. Not to lose, retain: conserver son calme, conserver toute sa tête.^[9][1]
5. To keep with one, not throw away: conservez votre ticket.^[9][1]

Word family

• conserve
• conserverie
• conservable

Related words

• conservation
• conservateur
• conservatoire
• observer
• préserver
• réserver
• Latin cōnservō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1065b
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert