reservation
[rez-er-vey-shuh n]
- the act of keeping back, withholding, or setting apart.
- the act of making an exception or qualification.
- an exception or qualification made expressly or tacitly: to accept something, but with inner reservations.
- a tract of public land set apart for a special purpose, as for the use of an Indian tribe.
- an arrangement to secure accommodations at a restaurant or hotel, on a boat or plane, etc.
- the record kept or assurance given of such an arrangement: Sorry, the hotel has no reservation under that name.
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Origin of reservation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
restrictionskepticismdoubtbookingterritoryreserveprovisotermsstringdemurkickerqualificationcircumscriptioncatchhesitancyprovisionscruplestringswithholdingplaceExamples from the Web for reservation
Contemporary Examples
The Reservation is sovereign Indian land, and the grizzly is a sacred animal to these tribes.
Back in June, President Obama made his first visit to an Indian reservation, and he was just the third sitting president to do so.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His WorkWilliam O’Connor
August 22, 2014
Out West, in a tepee, on a reservation, alcohol, drug abuse, drain on society, poverty, uneducated—beaten down.
A Millennium After Inventing the Game, the Iroquois Are Lacrosse’s New SuperpowerEvin Demirel
July 21, 2014
Whether or not you are a Sound of Music fan, make a reservation and enjoy a delicious meal in a beautiful setting.
A Healthy Dose of Vermont: Soaking Up Fall in the Mountains of StoweWilliam O’Connor
November 8, 2013
In fact, Fitzpatrick wore no tie at all, one indicator that he long ago left the reservation.
Historical Examples
He arose, and told his tale without duplicity or reservation.
The Last of the MohicansJames Fenimore Cooper
The story that suicide is wrong and immoral is, like other things, to be taken with reservation.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
And he's eat everything that's chewable on the reservation already.
The Woman-HatersJoseph C. Lincoln
This was another statement Harley had accepted with a good deal of reservation.
The Planetoid of PerilPaul Ernst
And so late in 1872 Cochise and his people came back to the reservation.
When the West Was YoungFrederick R. Bechdolt
reservation
- the act or an instance of reserving
- something reserved, esp hotel accommodation, a seat on an aeroplane, in a theatre, etc
- (often plural) a stated or unstated qualification of opinion that prevents one's wholehearted acceptance of a proposal, claim, statement, etc
- an area of land set aside, esp (in the US) for American Indian peoples
- British the strip of land between the two carriageways of a dual carriageway
- the act or process of keeping back, esp for oneself; withholding
- law a right or interest retained by the grantor in property granted, conveyed, leased, etc, to anothera reservation of rent
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for reservation
n.
late 14c., "act of reserving," from Old French reservation (14c.) and directly from Late Latin reservationem (nominative reservatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin reservare (see reserve (n.)). Mental sense is from c.1600. U.S. sense "tract of public land set aside for some special use" is recorded from 1789, originally in reference to the Six Nations in New York State. Meaning "act or fact of engaging a room, a seat, etc." is from 1904, originally American English.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper