incompletely-preserved
|in-com-plete-ly-pre-served|
🇺🇸
/ˌɪn.kəmˈpliːt.li prɪˈzɝːvd/
🇬🇧
/ˌɪn.kəmˈpliːt.li prɪˈzɜːvd/
only partly kept intact
Etymology
'incompletely-preserved' originates from English, formed by combining the adverb 'incompletely' (from Latin 'in-' meaning 'not' and 'completus' meaning 'finished/complete') with the past participle adjective 'preserved' (from Latin 'prae-' meaning 'before' and 'servare' meaning 'to keep/save').
'incompletely' developed from Middle English 'incomplete' (via Old French from Latin 'incompletus') plus the suffix '-ly', while 'preserved' comes from Middle English 'preserven' via Old French 'preserver' from Latin 'praeservare'; the hyphenated compound 'incompletely-preserved' is a modern English formation.
Initially, the components meant 'not complete' and 'kept safe/maintained'; combined, they now describe something 'only partly kept intact or maintained'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not fully preserved; only partially intact or complete.
The archive holds several incompletely-preserved manuscripts from the 13th century.
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Adjective 2
of a specimen (e.g., fossil or biological sample), preserved only in part, limiting diagnostic features.
An incompletely-preserved fossil skull limits our ability to reconstruct the species.
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Last updated: 2025/08/10 07:06