preservation

plural preservations

1. countableuncountableThe act of preserving; care to preserve; act of keeping from destruction, decay or any ill.

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

   1886 January 28, The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past, volume XIII, number 73, page 85

   4 more examples

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

   c. 1600, Sir John Davies, The Original, Nature, and Immortality of the Soul

   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.

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

   Preservation of two railway routes between Belfast and Derry could no longer be justified and one of them must go.

   1956 May, “Transport in Ulster”, in Railway Magazine, page 280

   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.

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

2. countableuncountableThe state of being preserved, how something has survived.

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

   1886 January 28, The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past, volume XIII, number 73, page 135

   2 more examples

   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.

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

   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."

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