The Collaborative International Dictionary
Reserve \Re*serve"\ (r?-z?rv"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reserved. (z?rvd");p. pr. & vb. n. Reserving.] [F. r['e]server, L. reservare, reservatum; pref. re- re- + servare to keep. See Serve.]
To keep back; to retain; not to deliver, make over, or disclose. ``I have reserved to myself nothing.''
--Shak.-
Hence, to keep in store for future or special use; to withhold from present use for another purpose or time; to keep; to retain; to make a reservation[7].
--Gen. xxvii. 35.Note: In cases where one person or party makes a request to an agent that some accommodation (such as a hotel room or place at a restaurant) be kept (reserved) for their use at a particular time, the word reserve applies both to the action of the person making the request, and to the action of the agent who takes the approproriate action (such as a notation in a book of reservations) to be certain that the accommodation is available at that time.
Hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble?
--Job xxxviii. 22,2 -
Reserve your kind looks and language for private hours.
--Swift.3. To make an exception of; to except. [R.]
Wiktionary
vb. (present participle of reserve English)
Usage examples of "reserving".
I improved the taste with a harmless flavoring and filled two demijohns with the mixture, reserving a large flask for Hold use, should it be required.
The Pagan multitude, reserving their gratitude for temporal benefits alone, rejected the inestimable present of life and immortality, which was offered to mankind by Jesus of Nazareth.
After reserving the count of Nevers, and four-and-twenty lords, ^* whose birth and riches were attested by his Latin interpreters, the remainder of the French captives, who had survived the slaughter of the day, were led before his throne.
I am also much pleased with the proposition to the states to invest Congress with the regulation of their trade, reserving it's revenue to the states.
They are therefore beginning to invest Congress with the absolute power of regulating their commerce, only reserving all revenue arising from it to the state in which it is levied.
After the 24th of July,[73] Lyons solemnly recognized the supreme and central authority, reserving nothing but its municipal franchises.
The nation would distribute this merchandise to wholesale dealers, reserving a profit of six per cent.
But he did not want to put his mouth to her, still reserving that for the memories of Theresa and William.
Her best friend, Lena Guthrie, one of the only three people to whom she had shown the paper that had been pinned to the blanket, the other two being the doctor and the lawyer, thought the baby looked like Dick, but she, Lucy, was reserving her opinion.
This too, after reserving one-quarter, was given to the Indians, who now seemed completely satisfied and in good humor.
In the good humor excited by this occurrence they parted, though reluctantly, with four other horses, for which we gave them two kettles, reserving only a single small one for a mess of eight men.
He gave his head a decisive nod, as if he had been reserving his opinion all the while I worked.
I'm just reserving the one nearest the main cabin for Doctor Hollister-Aspen.