conservation English · revision 5931

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374|origins=la conservatio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌkɒn.səˈveɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌkɑːn.sɚˈveɪ.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English conservacioun, [[bor|frm|conservation]] and directly [[bor|la|cōnservātiō|t=a keeping, preserving]] (accusative conservationem),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) a noun of action from the past participle stem of [[m|la|cōnservāre|t=to keep, preserve, guard]] (see [[conserve]]),^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from com-, here perhaps intensive, and servāre “to keep watch, maintain”,^(Etymonline) from the PIE root [[ine-pro|*ser-|t=to protect]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Preservation from destruction or decay: about 1374 in the OED; in Etymonline the late 14th century, of the preservation of health and the careful keeping of something.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Preserving existing conditions, institutions or rights is from the mid-15th century, 1460 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From the late 15th century, 1490 in the OED, it named the official charge of English rivers, sewers, forests and fisheries, now [[conservancy]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The preservation of nature and wild places is by 1909,^(Etymonline) and of the environment and natural resources from 1922 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The conservation of energy was apparently coined in French by Leibniz in 1692 and is found in English in Latin form from the early 18th century, the exact phrase from 1853;^(Etymonline) conservation laws in physics are from 1930.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – preservation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1460 – of existing conditions.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1490 – care of rivers and forests.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1853 – conservation of energy.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1909 – preservation of nature.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1930 – conservation law.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The protection and careful management of the natural [[environment]] and its resources.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The preservation of something from loss, damage or decay, such as old buildings or works of art.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Careful use of something so that it is not wasted: ''energy conservation''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(physics)'' The principle that a quantity, such as [[energy]], stays constant in a closed system.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[conservational]]

+ * [[conservationist]]

+ * [[nonconservation]]

+ * [[proconservation]]

+ * [[anticonservation]]

+ * [[anticonservationist]]

+ * [[conservation law]]

+ * [[conservation of energy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[conserve]]

+ * [[conservative]]

+ * [[conservancy]]

+ * [[conservatory]]

+ * [[preserve]]

+ * [[observe]]

+ * [[reserve]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}