preservation

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preservation

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From Old French preservacion, from Medieval Latin preservatio. Morphologically preserve +‎ -ation.

• (US) IPA^(key): /pɹɛ.zɝˈveɪ.ʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

preservation (countable and uncountable, plural preservations)

1. The act of preserving; care to preserve; act of keeping from destruction, decay or any ill.
   • c. 1600, Sir John Davies, The Original, Nature, and Immortality of the Soul:

     Every seneseless thing by nature's light
     Doth preservation seek, destruction shun

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiasticus 34:16:

     The eyes of the Lord are upon them that love him, his is ther mighty protection, a preservation from stumbling, and a help from falling.

   • 1886 January, The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past, volume XIII, number 73, page 85:

     Further, the Society pleads for the preservation of Sutton's Charity.

   • 2007, J. N. Adams, “The Republic: inscriptions”, in The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600, Cambridge University Press, page 105:

     When a language dies members of the culture of which that language was once a part may attempt to hold on to their linguistic heritage, if not by the use of the defunct language itself, at least by the preservation of its script.

2. The state of being preserved, how something has survived.
   • 1886 January, The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past, volume XIII, number 73, page 135:

     The canoe is of pure black oak, and is in excellent preservation.

   • 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Didcot (1932)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 61:

     Tons of engine sheds would bite the dust with the end of steam, and many would be demolished with their time in the spotlight over. We're lucky that the one at Didcot survived into preservation.

   • 2022 January 12, Dr. Joseph Brennan, “Castles: ruined and redeemed by rail”, in RAIL, number 948, page 54:

     As Edwin Clark [...] wrote in 1850: "[...] The lofty towers of the castle overhang the western approach to the Bridge, and the line passes into Conway through an opening pierced in the embattled wall, which entirely surrounds the town. These fortifications are in good preservation, and rank among the most perfect examples of the strongholds of the 13th century."

• preservationist
• self-preservation