Etymology: Partly < Middle French conserve (French conserve ) confectionary or medicinal preparation made from some part of a plant preserved with sugar (1359), preserve, store, hoard (1577 in the passage translated in quot. 1586 at sense 3; < conserver conserve v.), and partly < conserve v. Compare post-classical Latin conserva sweetmeat (a1350, 1501 in British sources), and also Old Occitan conserva that which conserves something (c1225; also in sense ‘confectionary or medicinal preparation made from some part of a plant preserved with sugar’ (1397)), Spanish conserva (a1385), Portuguese conserva (1448), Italian conserva that which conserves something (a1363), confectionary or medicinal preparation made from some part of a plant preserved with sugar (1578). Compare conserva n. Compare also later preserve n.

Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French conserver (French conserver ) to observe (a promise, an oath, etc.) (842 in Old French), to preserve (13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), to keep, to remain in possession of (c1370), to maintain (a person or thing) in a certain state (c1377), to guard carefully (15th cent.), to prevent from disappearing, to cause to endure (a1430), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin cōnservāre to save or keep from danger, to preserve, to keep intact or unharmed, to keep unchanged, to maintain, to act in accordance with, to observe, in post-classical Latin also to preserve (e.g. fruit in sugar) (c1575 in a British source) < cōn- con- prefix + servāre to keep, preserve (see serve v.³). Compare Old Occitan conservar (12th cent.), Catalan conservar (13th cent.), Spanish conservar (a1250), Portuguese conservar (1344), Italian conservare (1308). Compare preserve v.In later use (in e.g. sense 2c and sense 5) probably influenced by conservation n.