Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “preserven” come from?

preserven (Middle English) comes from Old French preserver, from Latin preservare, from Latin praeservāre, from Latin prae, from Proto-Italic prai, from Proto-Indo-European preh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

Ancestry of “preserven”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpreserver—
2Latinpreservarekeep, preserve
3Latinpraeservāre—
4Latinpraebefore; in front; in front of
5Proto-Italicprai—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “preserven”

  • preserve
  • preserving
  • preserver
  • preserveth
  • preservest
  • preservable
  • cryopreserve
  • preservability
  • preservingly
  • unpreservable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →