PRESERV'ATIVE, adjective Having the power or quality of keeping safe from injury, destruction or decay; tending to preserve. PRESERV'ATIVE, noun That which preserves or has the power of preserving; something that tends to secure a person or thing in a sound state, or prevent if from injury, destruction, decay or corruption; a preventive of injury or decay. Persons formerly wore tablets of arsenic, as preservatives against the plague. Clothing is a preservative against cold. Temperance and exercise are the best preservatives of health. Habitual reverence of the Supreme Being is an excellent preservative against sin and the influence of evil examples.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI