praeservatio
Forms
praeservatio f (genitive praeservatiōnis); third declension[1] It is also spelled preservatio and preservacio.[2][3]
Etymology
It is from Latin praeservō + -tiō, a noun of action from the Medieval Latin verb.[4][2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates the first record, from Latham's word list, to about 1365,[2] with the sense of keeping something in its state.[2]
Semantic evolution
It meant keeping something in a given state or condition,[4] and keeping it safe, protection, as in Wyclif's “preservation from sin”;[4] in medical writing it was protection from disease, as in the prevention of eye diseases.[3] In Church Latin it is preservation, the act of saving.[1] English preservation, first “protection from disease”, came in the early 15th century from Old French, which had it from the Medieval Latin word.[5]
Timeline
- c. 1365 – First record in Latham, according to Köbler.[2]
- 1413 – A letter in the Bekynton collection speaks of the preservation of Rome.[4]
- early 15th century – English preservation is first recorded, through Old French.[5]
- 1545 – A Scottish Church council speaks of the preservation of liberty.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- (Medieval Latin) Preservation, keeping something in its state.[4][2]
- Protection, keeping safe (from harm, sin or disease).[4][3][1]
Related words
- English preservation
References
- ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
- ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com