conservator

noun

con·​ser·​va·​tor kən-ˈsər-və-tər 

-və-ˌtȯr;

ˈkän(t)-sər-ˌvā-tər

1

a

: one that preserves from injury or violation : protector

b

: one that is responsible for the care, restoration, and repair of archival or museum articles

2

: a person, official, or institution designated to take over and protect the interests of an incompetent

3

: an official charged with the protection of something affecting public welfare and interests

conservatorial

kən-ˌsər-və-ˈtȯr-ē-əl 

(ˌ)kän-

adjective

conservatorship

kən-ˈsər-və-tər-ˌship 

-və-ˌtȯr-;

ˈkän(t)-sər-ˌvā-tər-

noun

Examples of conservator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the victims is Edith, played by Colman, a woman living with her elderly parents, and has been raised by an extremely conservator, controlling and religious father, played by Timothy Spall. —Maëlle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Lessons from near and far Many of the conservators contracted by the city initially declined to do any preservation work until officials conducted a comprehensive public engagement process. —Roberto Roldan, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024

Thompson declined to be interviewed and Jeremy’s conservator declined to comment. —James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023

Because the helmet pieces are so delicate, museum conservators opted to make 3-D scans of the remains in order to learn more about how to piece it back together. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024

As the conservator writes, pilgrim’s badges typically depicted human or animal figures, including saints, knights, birds and dragons. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024

Wildlife conservators found 500 pounds of pythons in a single day last month in Collier County, Florida. —Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2024

The documents claim King could not be be appointed as Allman's conservator unless the court believes that to be in Allman's best interest. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2024

Completed in 1709, the library was largely unchanged until a few years ago, when conservators conducted an extensive effort to restore the room and clean its books and manuscripts. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English conservatour "legal custodian, protector, guardian," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French conservatour, conservator, borrowed from Latin conservātōr-, conservātor "one who preserves, savior" (Medieval Latin, "official custodian, keeper"), from conservāre "to save or keep from danger, preserve" + -tōr-, -tor, agent suffix — more at conserve entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Legal Definition

conservator

noun

con·​ser·​va·​tor kən-ˈsər-və-tər, ˈkän-sər-ˌvā- 

1

: a person, official, or institution appointed by a court to take over and manage the estate of an incompetent compare committee, curator, guardian, receiver, tutor

2

: a public official charged with the protection of something affecting public welfare and interests

specifically : an official placed in charge of a bank because its affairs are not in a satisfactory condition

conservatorship noun