conservatory

adjectivenounattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//kənˈsɜː.və.tɹi//
United States//kənˈsɝ.vəˌt(ɔ.)ɹi//

Having the quality of preserving from loss, decay, or injury.

adjective

1
Having the quality of preserving from loss, decay, or injury.
2
rareRelating to conservation.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin cōnservātōrius directly and via French conservatoire, from cōnservāre (“to conserve, to preserve”) + -torius (“-atory: forming related adjectives”) and/or conservator (“conservator, preserver, protector”) + -ius (“-y: forming related adjectives”).

noun

1
obsoleteA medicine, especially a magical preservative.
The auncient Catholyke fathers... were not afrayde to call this Supper... the foode of immortalitie... and the conseruatory to euerlastyng lyfe.
...a tree appointed to be the cure of diseases and a conservatory of life...
2
A school or clinic for orphans.
3
A music school.
4
archaicA storehouse, a repository.
5
obsoleteAn icehouse, a warehouse for ice.
6
obsoleteA cistern, an artificially collected body of water.
7
obsoleteA reservoir, an artificially maintained body of water.
8
A greenhouse, a glass-walled building for cultivating delicate plants.
9
A solarium, a glass-walled and glass-roofed room in a house.
Joyce Barnaby: It's a lovely cottage in Badger's Drift. It's got two bedrooms, two living rooms and a conservatory. DCI Tom Barnaby: Conservatory? Sounds like something out of Cluedo. Cully Barnaby: Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the conservatory.
10
A drama school.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin cōnservātōrium directly and via French conservatoire and Italian conservatorio, from cōnservātus (“conserved, preserved”) + -ōrium (“-ory: forming related nouns”).

Forms

plural: conservatories
comparative: more conservatory
superlative: most conservatory

conservation · The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting; the keeping…conservative · A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.Conservative · A member of a political party incorporating the word…

conservatory · Having the quality of preserving from loss, decay, or injury.

conserve · Wilderness where human development is prohibited.consider · To think about seriously.considerable · Significant; worth considering.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.