Pre-sẽrv'a-tive1, a.
a. [It., Sp., & Pg. preservativo, Pr. preservatiu, Fr. préservatif.] Having the power or quality of preserving or keeping safe from injury, destruction, or decay; tending to preserve.
2 entries under this word
Preservative
Pre-sẽrv'a-tive2, n.
n. That which preserves, or has the power of preserving; that which tends to secure from injury, destruction, decay, or corruption; a preventive of injury or decay.
It hath been anciently in use to wear tablets of arsenic as preservatives against the plague. Bacon.