preserve
/prɪˈzɜːrv/·프리저브·verb
to keep from being lost or harmed
LatinCEFR B1
Root
pre- (before) + Latin 'servare' (to keep, watch)
Latin praeservare (guard beforehand) → Middle French preserver → English preserve (14th c.)
In a word
pre- (before) + serv (keep) = 'to keep in advance'. The serv family splits by manner of keeping — serve (attend, keep for), pre-serve (keep beforehand), re-serve (keep again = reserve), con-serve (keep together), ob-serve (keep watch = observe). "Preserving food," by root, is "arriving before time does to keep it." Library reserves and environmental preservation share one heart: keeping things from being lost.
Examples
We must preserve our forests.
Salt preserves food for a long time.
They preserved old letters in a box.
Related
servereserveconserveobservepreservation