Etymologically
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conserver

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Pronunciation

  • /kɔ̃.sɛʁ.ve/[1]

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

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