▪ I. † save, n.1 Obs.
[ad. L. salvia sage n.1, whence OE. saluie; assimilated to save v.]
Sage.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1855 Fermacies of herbes, and eek saue They dronken, for they wolde hir limes haue. ? a 1450 Pol. Rel. & Love Poems 287 So þat he drynke save or anteoche. |
▪ II. save, n.2
(seɪv)
[f. save v.]
1. An act of saving; a piece of economy. dial. and vulgar. (See E.D.D.)
| 1906 Daily Chron. 9 Feb. 4/4 The fact is, apart from..the save in gas and firing,..when the year's finished I've calculated I shall make a profit on it. |
2. Football, Hockey, etc. An act of preventing the opposite side from scoring. Now usu. such an action performed by the goal-keeper.
| 1890 Field 1 Nov. 670/1 Coventry [a half-back] came to the rescue with a plucky save. 1892 Pall Mall G. 1 Mar. 2/1 Gay, in goal, made no mistake and several excellent saves. 1942 Sun (Baltimore) 26 Jan. 4/1 Gil Schuerholz..made astounding saves all afternoon. 1954 Encounter Feb. 58/2 The highlights of a [football] game, a spectacular save, a balanced evasive run..become evocative images. 1960 B. Liddell My Soccer Story x. 68 One save of Bert's..was of the truly miraculous type... The ball..sped like a bullet towards the left-hand corner..but with a marvellous leap..Bert turned it over the bar. 1977 News of World 17 Apr. 23/4 Arsenal lost the match the precise second that Liverpool's England goalkeeper Ray Clemence made a world-class save from Frank Stapleton. |
3. Bridge. = sacrifice n. 5 d. Freq. in phr. cheap save.
| 1927 Observer 31 July 14/5 Now consider the position if Z had doubled ‘Six Hearts’ instead of going on with Spades..which would have saved the game and rubber. A cheap save and well worth while! 1928 A. E. M. Foster Auction Bridge iv. 200 (heading) A good save on majority bidding. 1974 Country Life 3 Oct. 975/3 A hand from a recent session... Trying for a cheap save. |
Add: [2.] b. Baseball. The credit given to a relief pitcher for maintaining the team's lead through a threatening situation in a game won by the pitcher's team; also, the act of preserving the lead in this way. (Chiefly as a statistical measure.)
| 1962 Washington Daily News 3 July 27/2 They had two on base when Wagner came up with his save. 1963 Official Baseball Guide 223 Only one save could be given in a game, and a reliever who received the victory was not eligible for a save. 1977 Washington Post 5 June d8/2 A junior All-Metropolitan selection who..was credited with a save in yesterday's triumph. 1985 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 9 Oct. c3/1 Pitchers are given two points for each save and relief win. 1987 First Base Summer 13/1 A reliever is credited with a save if he comes into the game with his team ahead and keeps them there. |
4. Computing. An act of saving a file: see *save v. 8 g.
| 1982 380z Disc System User Guide App. B. 7 Save, the transfer of a program or data from immediate (and usually volatile) memory to a backing store of non-volatile memory (usually disc or tape). 1984 S. Curran Word Processing for Beginners ix. 116 When the disc looks to be around three-quarters full, it is actually getting full to bursting, and will be liable to reject further saves. |
▪ III. save, v.
(seɪv)
Forms: α. 3–5 (6 Sc.) salve; Sc. 5–6 sa(u)lf(f, 6 salfe, salffe. β. 3–5 sauve; also (chiefly north. and Sc.) 3–6 sauf(e, 4–5 sawf(e, sawff, 4–6 sauff. γ. 4 Kent. sove (sovi, sovy). δ. 3– save; also (chiefly north. and Sc.) 4–6 saw(e, 4–5 saf(e, 4–6 saff(e; Sc. 5–6 saif(f, (6 saaf).
[a. OF. salver, sauver (= Pr., Sp., Pg. salvar, It. salvare):—late L. salvāre to save, f. L. salv-us safe.]
I. To rescue or protect.
1. trans. To deliver or rescue from peril or hurt; to make safe, put in safety. Const. from, † out of. a. a living being.
| c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 32 Lord saue us for we perisset. 13.. Guy Warw. 7226 God..þat..heldest Daniel fram þe lyoun, Saue me fram þis foule dragoun. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 116 To saf his douchtir fra þat wrak. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1099 Thus may thow saif me fra syte. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xc. 284 He that alwayes hath saued me out of all perelles wyll not forsake me at this tyme. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 55 Gif ȝe..salve his servandis ffre the daith so far as ȝe may. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 3 One that I sau'd from drowning. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ix. 9 Save a Thiefe from the Gallows, and he'll Cut your Throat. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 63 Did not you come Eleven of you into the Boat, where are the Ten? Why were not they sav'd and you lost? 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxxii, She fell on her knees, and thanked the Power which had saved her husband. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. vii, ‘O Mr. Symmes!—save me—do save me—do hide me!’ said Eliza. |
b. one's life (similarly, one's body, carcass, head, neck, etc.). to save one's skin, to escape unhurt. to save one's bacon: see bacon n. 5 a. Also used colloq. in fig. phr. to save (someone's) life, to give timely assistance, esp. a stimulating drink.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9231 So þat to saui is lif þe castel vp hii ȝolde. 13.. K. Alis. 3811 He lefte his pray, and fleygh to hors, For to save his owne cors. 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 271 His fostyr modyr..Did mylk to warme, his liff giff scho mycht saiff. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxvii. 230 He besought our lorde god to saue his body fro mysfortune. c 1570 W. Wager The longer thou livest 477 (Brandl), Neither mockes nor gaudes shall your skinne saue. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. iii. 67 To day, how many would haue giuen their Honours To haue sau'd their Carkasses? 1685 [see neck n.1 3 d]. 1803 Med. Jrnl. IX. 458 A great many lives were saved by the salutary practice of inoculation. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxi. IV. 544 To have done all in his power to save both the head of Stafford and the head of Russell. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xlvii, See my neck and save your own. 1914 [see gesundheit]. 1938 E. Waugh Scoop i. ii. 14 God bless you, Julia. You've saved my life. 1950 ‘J. Tey’ To love & be Wise xii. 153 Saved my life, you have! I missed the bus. 1955 M. Allingham Beckoning Lady iv. 62 Tea, darling? Bless you, you're saving my life. 1977 D. Bagley Enemy xxviii. 218 ‘A sherry,’ she said. ‘A sherry, to save my life.’ |
c. a people, state, city.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 106 His douchtir..to þe dragone suld be gyffine, to sauff þe ton. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. v. (1883) 59 He shold employe alle his entente to saue the comyn wele. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. v. (S.T.S.) I. 34 My citee was sauffit be þi helpe. 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. iii. 133 If it were so, that our request did tend To saue the Romanes, thereby to destroy The Volces whom you serue. 1728 Pope Dunc. i. 197 Could Troy be sav'd by any single hand. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington 200 Yea, let all good things await Him who cares not to be great, But as he saves or serves the state. 1894 J. T. Fowler Adamnan Introd. p. xxi, The Bards were saved, but reformed. |
d. To rescue (property) from shipwreck, fire, etc.
| 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. xli. 95 There was kindled in the same [ship] a great fire, so that nothing was saued, but onely the men. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 156 Go, go, be gone, to saue your Ship from wrack. 1615 R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 73 The fyre was so vehement that littell or nothing was saved. 1787 Park Mar. Insurances 141 Whereas the circumstance of the lighters being saved, and the ship lost, was accidental. 1878 M. W. Hungerford Molly Bawn xxxviii, I saved them [sc. diamonds] from the fire.., and have had them re-set. |
e. absol.
| 1560 Bible (Geneva) Isa. lix. 1 The Lords hand is not shortened, that it can not saue. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. ii. 80 Your husband he is gone to saue farre off, Whilst others come to make him loose at home. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 201 The same ambition can destroy or save. 1781 Cowper Charity 226 Oh, 'tis a godlike privilege to save! 1860 W. Whiting Hymn, Eternal Father, strong to save. |
f. Hyperbolically in trivial use, as to save (one's) life (or occas. soul): usu. following statement in negative, denoting lack of ability or intention to do something.
| 1848 Trollope Kellys & O'Kellys III. v. 106, I shan't remain long. If it was to save my life and theirs, I can't get up small talk for the rector and his curate. 1873 C. M. Yonge Pillars of House III. xxvii. 88 ‘Does she go to their church?’ ‘Oh no, she wouldn't to save her life—she thinks it quite shocking.’ 1893 Yonge & Coleridge Strolling Players iii. 21, I couldn't act to save my life. 1916 A. Bennett These Twain iii. xix. 436 ‘What will you have to eat?’ said Maggie. ‘Nothing. I couldn't eat to save my life.’ 1920 E. O'Neill Beyond Horizon iii. i. 128, I couldn't get to sleep to save my soul. 1941 J. Cary Herself Surprised xxxiv. 82 It took even Bill six months to get her into a motor, when motors came in, and she wouldn't telephone now to save her life. 1973 E. Berckman Victorian Album 192 She must have..dressed in record time, but to save my life I couldn't tell you how she looked or what she had on. |
2. Theol. To deliver (a person, the soul) from sin and its consequences; to admit to eternal bliss. [Gr. σ{wisubacu}ζειν, L. (Vulg.) salvum facere, salvare, salvificare.]
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1025 Monnes unmihte; þet he neodeles nom upon him seoluen, us for to saluin. 1340 Ayenb. 98 Godes zone þet com to þe wordle to zeche an to souy þet þet wes uorlore. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 82 Tech me..Hou I may saue my soule. 1382 Wyclif Mark xvi. 16 He that schal bileue, and schal be baptisid, schal be sauyd [v.r. saaf]; sothli he that schal bileue not, schal be dampned. [So 1535 Coverdale, 1611.] ― James i. 21 In myldenesse receyue ȝe the word insent, that mai saue ȝoure soules. [So in later versions.] c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xviii. 261 If it be seid..‘The crosse of Crist saued the world..’, the dewe vndirstonding ther of is this: ‘Crist bi his crosse..saued the world’. a 1500–34 Coventry Corpus Chr. Plays, Shearmen 546 A seyd there schuld a babe be borne,..To sawe mankynd that wasse for-lorne. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 20 b, I am passed my purgatory, and I am saued. 1549 Latimer 6th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 166 We can not be saued wythout fayeth, and fayth commeth by hearynge of the worde. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 75 For there is no christian that meanes to be saued by beleeuing rightly, can euer beleeue such impossible passages of grossenesse. 1666 Bunyan Grace Abound. §202, I was again much under this Question, Whether the Blood of Christ was sufficient to save my Soul? 1786 Burns For G. H. Esq. 4 But with such as he, where'er he be, May I be sav'd or d―'d. c 1830 Moore Epitaph on Tuft Hunter 20 He'd rather be Genteelly damn'd beside a Duke Than sav'd in vulgar company. 1840 Carlyle Heroes iv, Luther learned now that a man was saved not by singing masses, but by the infinite grace of God. 1893 F. Thompson Poems 61 There is no expeditious road To pack and label men for God, And save them by the barrel-load. |
| absol. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xiii. 1 Þat is, þare is na god þat dampnnes or safes. 1858 Arnot Laws fr. Heaven Ser. ii. xiii. 101 It is grace accepted that saves. |
b. in asseverative phrases, as I hope to be saved, † so God (or Christ) save me, etc.
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 808 Ye shul paye fourty pound, so god me saue. c 1450 Holland Howlat 120 So me Crist saif. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 300 As I be saved, ye be ful gentil and noble. 1710 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 23 Dec., Remember poor Presto, that wants you sadly, as hope saved. 1711 Ibid. 30 June. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones viii. xi, As I hope to be saved, I will never mention a word of it. |
c. transf. To reclaim from moral laxity, or the like; to be the ‘salvation’ of.
| 1894 Sir E. Sullivan Woman 98 How often you hear it said that marriage has improved a man—that it has saved him! |
3. Used in certain formulas of benediction, greeting, etc.; as God save you! † Also (in greetings) with omission of the subject.
(God) save the mark: see mark n.1 18.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 7034 (Kölbing) Wele yfounden, child Wawayn, Crist saue þi miȝt & þi mayn. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2250 God saue al this faire compaignye. Amen. 1530 Palsgr. 698/1 God save you, whiche sayeng we use whan we come firste to ones presence. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 70 Sir Protheus: 'saue you: saw you my Master? 1632 Massinger City Madam iv. iv, Luke. Then, as I said..you were tickl'd when the beggars cry'd, Heaven save your honour. 1706 Farquhar Recruit. Officer iii. ii, Save ye, save ye, Gentlemen. 1888 Lowell Heartsease & Rue 178, I have seen him some poor ancient thrashing Into something (God save us!) more dry. |
b. esp. in God save the king! and the like.
| c 1290 Beket 755 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 128 Sire king, he seide, god þe loke, and saui þi dignite! 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 811 Þus dindimus þe dere king enditeþ his sonde, & god bysecheþ to saue þe soueraine prinse. 1350–70 in Eulogium Hist. (Rolls) III. 87 Regem [Henricum II] Theutonica lingua sic affatur: Godde saue the kyng. [In Giraldus (Rolls) VIII. 180 God houlde dhe, cuning.] 1535 Coverdale 2 Sam. xvi. 16 He sayde vnto Absalom: God saue the kynge. 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus ii. iii. M j b, Aue rex, or god saue your royall maiestie. 1558 Procl. in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. ii. App. i. 389 God save the quene. a 1627 Sir J. Beaumont Bosw.-field (1629) 9 Some with loud shouting, make the valleyes ring, But most with murmur sigh: God saue the King. |
† 4. To spare instead of killing, allow to live, give (one) his life. Often coupled with slay. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5549 Þis midwimmen..did noght als þe king þam badd, Bot sauued þai þar childer liues. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1917 So that the site was al at his wille, To sauyn hem hym leste or ellis spille. 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 256 Wallace commaundede thai suld na wermen saiff. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 52 Whan he sauyth the lyf of them that he may slee. 1549 Compl. Scot. xii. 100, I ordand ȝou to slay doune al the romans, and nocht to saif ane of them. 1588 Lambarde Eiren. iv. xvi. 586 To saue or slay the Sparow that he holdeth closed in his hand. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 124 And therefore yet relent, and saue my life. 1642 Laws of War Army Earl Essex 20 None shall save a man that hath his offensive Armes in his hands, upon paine of losing his prisoner. |
| absol. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 663 For curs wol slee, right as assoillyng sauith. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 207 Where him hapneth the victoire, His lust and al his moste gloire Was forto sle and noght to save. |
5. To deliver from some evil which is likely to befall one; to protect from something which would be unwelcome or untoward; to ensure (one) immunity from some hurt or annoyance.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2985 Fra toche of hir i saued þe, þat þou suld not sin in me. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 23 Þat on Clothing is from Chele ow to saue. c 1450 Myrc Festial 293 Þonkyng hym þat sauid hym wyth hys blessing from poysynnyng. 1530 Palsgr. 698/1, I save one from daunger, as harnesse doth ones persone, or as medecyne, or preservatyve dothe ones helth, je contregarde. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lv. 186 The good harneys saued Huon fro all hurtes. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (Sommer) 103 But Zelmanes comming saued Dorus from further chiding. 1827 O. W. Roberts Voy. Centr. Amer. 226 He saved me from much interruption and many annoying questions. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xvi. 118 A sudden effort was necessary to save me from falling. 1886 C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xviii. (ed. 3) 162 This route has the advantage, too, of saving one from the crowd. |
b. used in invocation or aspiration: esp. with sarcastic emphasis.
| 1738 Pope Univ. Prayer 33 Save me alike from foolish Pride, Or impious Discontent. 1784 Cowper Task i. 499 But save me from the gaiety of those Whose head-aches nail them to a noon-day bed. 1798 Canning New Morality 210 in Anti-Jacobin 9 July, Save, save, oh! save me from the candid friend! |
c. To be a protection, defence, or means of deliverance to.
| 1412–20 Lydg. Troy Bk. iii. 90 And some wil haue also no viser To saue his face, but only a naser. 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 71 Couert of treis sawit him full weille. 1543 Grafton Contn. Harding 489 A goodly glose, by the whiche that place that may defend a thefe, may not saue an innocent. 1771 Junius Lett. lxvii. 333 But it shall not save you. The very sunshine you live in is a prelude to your dissolution. |
6. refl. (in senses 1 and 5). Often = to get away, escape (F. se sauver).
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 98 O none wise ne muwe ȝe betere sauuen ou suluen. c 1320 Sir Beues 836 Him com strokes so gret plente Þat fain he was to weren is hed And saue him self fro þe ded. c 1450 Myrc Festial 133 Wherfor, gentyll knyght, gos hens fast and saue þyselfe. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. ii. 48 Flye Lords, and saue your selues. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1724) I. 585, I saved my self out of those difficulties by saying to all my friends, that I would not be involved in any such confidence. 1729 W. Funnell Voy. 144 He and his company got to his boat, and so saved themselves to the ship. 1817 Ballad of Waterloo 18 All panic struck, the legions fled, 'Twas save himself who could. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xl, The only course by which he could save himself from degradation and disgrace. |
† b. refl. and intr. To avoid loss. Obs.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 139 b, So both parties, rather myndyng to gain or save then to lose, departed for that tyme. Ibid. 141 b, Thenglishemen sometyme saved, and sometyme gained, but the moste losse lighted on the Frenchemen. 1696 Phillips (ed. 5) s.v., A Tradesman is said to save himself that neither gets nor loses. |
7. † a. To heal, cure, restore to health. Obs. b. Later only as a specific use of sense 1: To rescue from a sickness which threatens to prove mortal; = to save the life of.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 17 Hou heore schabbede schep schal heore wolle saue. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 387 He was hard i-holde with a strong sikenesse, and myȝte nouȝt be i-heled noþer i-saved wiþ no manere medecyne. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 32 Bot as a man that wolde him save, Whan he is sek, be medicine. a 1400–50 Alexander 2558 My-self with a serop sall saue [Dublin MS. safe] ȝow belyue. 14.. Officium Resurrect. 7 in Non-Cycle Myst. Plays 3 Why suffred he so forto dy, Sithe he may all sekenes saue? |
| 1615 R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 63 Soe our chirurgion was sent for to assist the Duch chirurgion to save the [wounded] man, yf it were possible. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xli, Her own little boy was saved, actually saved, by calomel, freely administered, when all the physicians in Paris had given the dear child up. |
8. To keep, protect or guard (a thing) from damage, loss, or destruction.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 429 And so þe strokes were i-lette, and þe walles i-saved. 1387 Charters, etc. Edinb. (1871) 35 To cast the watir owte and to save the werc for the watir. c 1450 Myrc Festial 39 Hys hall was yche day of the ȝere new strawed..forto saue knyghtys cloþys þat setton on þe flore. 1553 Wilson Rhet. (1585) 117 Fond is his purpose, that being in the Raine, casteth his garment in a bush, and standeth naked himself, for sauing the glosse of his gay coate. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 63 A Ferril of Brass may be put thereon to save the Head from cleaving. 1672 Wiseman Wounds ii. 90 If the Toes with part of the foot was shot off, cut off the lacerated parts smooth, but with care to save as much of the foot with the heel as you can. 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock ii. 93 To save the powder from too rude a gale. 1735 ― Donne Sat. ii. 72 His Office keeps your Parchment fates entire, He starves with cold to save them from the fire. 1907 Hodges Elem. Photogr. 97 Over-exposed prints may possibly be saved by further diluting the developer. |
† b. To guard (property) from loss or from passing into other hands; to keep in safe possession (for oneself or another). Obs.
| 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 81 Also, ye skyueyns of ye gylde yat hauen ye catel in hande, scholene fynden borwes to ye alderman, for to sauen ye catel, and for to bringe it forht at ye general morspeche, wyht-outen ani lettyng. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 272 When þy lord lokeþ to haue a-louaunce for hus bestes, And of þe monye þow haddist þer-myd hus meoble to saue. 1526 Tindale 1 Tim. vi. 20 O Timothe save that which is geven the to kepe. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. ii. (S.T.S.) I. 15 The realme of latynis and troianis was sauffit to þis childe Ascanius be prudent tutorie of lavinia his moder. |
† c. To have (a person) in safe keeping. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 200, I deeme anon this cherl his seruant haue; Thou shalt no lenger in thyn hous hir saue. |
† d. To make (a place) secure. Obs.
| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 294 Þe toun he suld so saue, þat he suld not ascape. |
e. to save one's pocket: to avoid spending one's money.
| 1883 Law Times Rep. XLIX. 9/1 The tenant for life may have indirectly benefited himself or saved his own pocket. |
f. to save one's face: to avoid being disgraced or humiliated. Similarly, to save (another's) face. Hence save-face adj. = face-saving ppl. adj. s.v. face n. 27, and absol. as n.
[Originally used by the English community in China, with reference to the continual devices among the Chinese to avoid incurring or inflicting disgrace. The exact phrase appears not to occur in Chinese, but ‘to lose face’ (tiu lien), and ‘for the sake of his face’, are common.]
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 5 Apr. 5/1 Unquestionably the process of saving one's face leads to curious results in other countries than China. 1900 Daily News 25 June 4/5 The communiqué in the Russian ‘Official Messenger’ provides the necessary formula by the adoption of which the Chinese Government can save its face. 1917 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 13/2 The civilian native staff had bolted at the first sign of trouble, ‘going to report to the authorities’ being their ‘save face’ for it! 1935 Times 7 Oct. 9/4 The closing phase of the War—namely, a save-face, patched up peace. 1966 R. Standish Widow Hack i. 8 A save-face formula to enable Janet to plead force majeure. |
9. To keep intact or unhurt, preserve, maintain, safeguard (honour, credit, chastity, and the like).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11232 Right sua al plain,..he com and yede, Saufand his moder hir maidenhede. c 1350 Will. Palerne 527 My worschipe to saue. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 338 Wyrk yhe then apon swylk wyss, That ȝour honour be sawyt ay. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 523 Til that myn harte..Graunted hym loue, vpon this condicioun, That eueremore myn honour and renoun Were saued. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 19 Good is to save With penance and with abstinence Of chastite the continence. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 26 Thus will I saue my credit in the shoote. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 148 Who to save the reputation of the Virgin, confessed that he came to rob the house. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. ii. xi. (1848) 130 'Twould be much easier for the mistaken Physitian to save his Credit, than for the unprepar'd Sinner to save his Soul. 1733 Pope Ep. Cobham 125 Must then at once (the character to save) The plain rough Hero turn a crafty Knave? 1851 Lytton Not so Bad ii. i. 29 The loan saved my credit, and made my fortune. |
b. To safeguard (a right, possession) to a person.
| c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xiv. (1885) 144 Whether the kynge mey gyve such rewarde..off his revenues, savynge to hym selff sufficiant ffor the sustenance off his estate. 1499 Reg. Privy Seal Scotl. I. 50/1 A precept of confirmation of the crownarschip of Carrik..Salffand to the kingis hienes service auch and wont. 1544 tr. Littleton's Tenures 41 b, Yf a man let lande to another for terme of lyfe sauynge the reuersyon to him. 1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 29 §6 Savinge to all and every person or persons..all such Rightes..w{supc}{suph} they..had, might or should have had, of, in or to any the Mannors Lordshippes [etc.]. 1642 tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. x. §648. 279 The Lord doth grant the rent unto a stranger saving unto him his seignory. 1863 H. Cox Instit. i. v. 23 We find a clause..introduced saving the king's rights. |
† c. ? To keep, observe (a duty, rule). Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 85 Wherof I can noght bothe save My speche and this obedience. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (verse) 538 And all þai aw be day & night To saue þis rewle in all þer myght. |
† d. To preserve the credit of (one's word, oath).
| c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. xxix. 72 A man stode þer besyde & herd, & wold, hys thankes, saue [v.r. Sawe] þe prophetes sawe. 1595 2nd Pt. Contention (1843) 125 Ile shew your grace the waie to saue your oath. |
e. to save the situation, to avert disaster.
| 1907 W. Raleigh Shakespeare v. 135 If Cordelia had been perfectly tender and tactful, there would have been no play. The situation would have been saved. 1908 A. Bennett Old Wives' Tale iv. ii. 467 Those dogs saved the situation, because they needed constant attention. 1922 J. Williamson Short Hist. Brit. Expansionism v. iii. 514 Starvation more than once threatened annihilation, but on each occasion the timely arrival of food-ships saved the situation. |
10. With adj. complement: To keep or preserve whole, unhurt, etc.
† to save harmless: see harmless a. 2.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5037 Lauerd..sauue mi childir hale to me. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 223 Ane angell..opynd þe dure and savid þe seale hale at Saynt Remigius sett on itt. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xviii. 27 When the wycked man turneth awaye from his wickednesse..he shal saue his soule alyue. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 225 To saue vnscratch'd your Citties threatned cheekes. 1611 Bible 2 Kings vii. 4 If they saue vs aliue, we shall liue. 1784 Cowper Task i. 566 Which, kindled with dry leaves, just saves unquench'd The spark of life. 1859 Tennyson Enid 894 To Save her dear lord whole from any wound. |
† 11. To store, preserve, keep in sound condition.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxxvi. (Bodl. MS.), He [the heart] is holowȝ to fong blood, and he is þikke to saue it. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 507 After that, it ought to be dried in the Sun, and saued in a brasen box. 1602 Carew Cornwall (1723) 33 They [the Fish] are saued three maner of wayes: by fuming, pressing, or pickelling. 1728 Pope Dunc. i. 151 There sav'd by spice, like mummies, many a year, Dry Bodies of Divinity appear. |
b. intr. To remain in good condition, to last without spoiling, to ‘keep’. ? U.S.
| 1891 Century Dict., Save..To be capable of preservation: said of fish: as, to save well. |
12. trans. a. Astr. to save the appearances, save the phenomena [tr. Gr. σ{wisubacu}ζειν τὰ ϕαινόµενα (e.g. in Proclus Hypotyp. v. §10); cf. It. salvar le apparenze, F. sauver les apparences]: said of a hypothesis which satisfactorily explains the observed facts. See also salve v.2 1. Obs. exc. Hist. Hence (? orig. allusively) b. to save appearances: to contrive to keep up an appearance of propriety, solvency, or the like. (So in Fr. and It.) Cf. appearance 12 b.
| a. 1625, 1643 [see phenomenon 1 c]. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 82 When they come to model Heav'n And calculate the Starrs, how they will weild The mightie frame, how build, unbuild, contrive To save appeerances. 1946 A. Huxley Let. 3 Sept. (1969) 547 My primary preoccupation is the achievement of some kind of over-all understanding of the world, directly and, at one remove, through the building up of some hypothesis that accounts for the facts and ‘saves the appearances’. 1957 O. Barfield (title) Saving the appearances. 1981 Country Life 26 Feb. 528/3 His single professional aim is to perceive order in the physical world, not merely to save the appearances but to discover an ordered reality. |
| b. 1711, 1761 [see appearance 12 b]. 1844 Thirlwall Greece VIII. lxiii. 222 Sparta sent only a handful of men to save appearances. 1876 ‘Ouida’ Winter City viii. 234, I suppose it ‘saves society’, at least it saves appearances. |
13. To prevent the loss of (a game, match, wager, etc.). Also, in Racing slang, to ‘hedge’ so as to protect (oneself, one's ‘book’) from loss, or so as to recover (a certain sum) out of one's losses.
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. ii. iv. 94 The description Of what is in her Chamber, nothing saues The wager you haue laid. 17.. in Lillywhite Cricket Scores (1863) I. Pref. 10 If a striker nips a Ball up just before him he may fall before his Wicket, or pop down his Batt before Shee comes to it to Save it. 1837 D. Walker Sports & Games 217 The striker..must never follow a ball so far that, in case of no runs being obtained, he cannot return to save his wicket. 1862 Pycroft in London Soc. II. 114/1 As to his bowling, it might have saved the game. 1869 ‘Wat. Bradwood’ The O.V.H. xx, And even his lordship began to grudge that he had not just saved his book upon him [a horse] in consonance with the Major's advice. 1885 New Bk. Sports 58 But in the Eton field..even in the sorest straits, by the feet, and by the feet alone, must the goal be saved. |
† b. To make (a dangerous voyage) safely. Obs.
| 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 77 This holds with little intermission till..the first Full Moon in August; when our Europe Ships, if they save their Passage about the Cape, venture to make in here. |
14. ‘To take or embrace opportunely, so as not to lose’ (J.); to be in time for, manage to catch.
| 1732–3 Swift Reas. Rep. Sacram. Test. Wks. 1751 IX. 245 The same Persons..were..faithful Subjects to Cromwell, yet being wise enough to foresee a Restoration, they seized the Forts and Castles here [in Ireland]..; just saving the Tide, and putting in a Stock of Merit sufficient to preserve [etc.]. 1802 Canning in G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 456, I have but a moment to save the post. 1833 I. Taylor Fanat. vi. 203 That they may save the hour of..appointment. 1849 Thackeray 12 June in Scribner's Mag. I. 409/2 The note must go this instant to save the post. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. vii. 73 There arises a question whether under such circumstances the train can be saved. |
† b. to save one's distance, time: to manage to arrive at (a given point or time) after being delayed.
| 1790 R. Cumberland Observer No. 142 §3 (1791) V. 184 Whether Nicolas saved his distance..we shall not just now enquire. 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life vi. iv, Riding out to dinner, many miles off, on a beast that will not quit his walk, while you know that nothing short of a full gallop will save your time. |
II. To reserve, lay aside.
15. To keep for a particular purpose or as likely to prove useful; to set apart, lay by, reserve.
| c 1400 Rule of St. Benet (verse) 1582 Þat euer-ilkon wil of hir laue þe third part til hir sopper saue. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. v. 9 Good thou, saue mee a piece of Marchpane. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 136, I saved the Skins of all the Creatures that I kill'd. 1747 H. Glasse Cookery (1796) xiv. 210 Take..a bunch of turnips, pare them, save three or four out, put the rest into the water. 1845 Visit to Bury St. Edmunds 90, I have one pair [of shoes]; they were almost worn out when father died, and as mother can't buy any more, I save them for Sundays. |
16. spec. To collect and keep (seed) in stock for sowing.
| 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden xxiii. 47 The Roots [of Clary]..perish after the Seed-time: it is most usuall to save it; for the Seed seldom riseth of its own shedding. 1763 Mills Syst. Pract. Husb. IV. 128 The best way to save the seeds of this paint, is [etc.]. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 92 It is feared the bulk of the people will not be able to save seed for next crop. |
b. To dry (corn, hay, peat) by exposure to the air; to harvest, stack. Cf. win.
| 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 120 When it [the corn] was growing and grown, I have observ'd already, how many Things I wanted, to Fence it, Secure it, Mow or Reap it, Cure and Carry it Home, Thrash, Part it from the Chaff, and Save it. 1764 Museum Rust. I. lxxxiii. 361 The farmers pile them up in one of their offices, with an outside facing of bog turf well saved. 1824 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) II. 183 The Northumberland people have an idiom of ‘saving hay’ for ‘making hay’. 1892 J. Barlow Irish Idylls i. 8 A turf-stack..when newly ‘saved’.. looks like a solidified shadow of the little house. |
c. To extract (gold) from quartz.
| 1877 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 69 The gold is easily saved, being clean, angular, and not very small; hence the proportion saved by the mill-process is notably greater than in any other locality in California. |
d. to save clean in Whaling (see quot.).
| 1891 Century Dict. s.v., To save clean, to save all (the blubber) in cutting in: a whaling-term. |
17. To store up or put by (money, goods, etc.) by dint of economy; to reserve instead of spending, consuming, or parting with.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 27 Treuþe..Bad hem Bugge Boldely what hem best lykede, And seþþen sullen hit a-ȝeyn And saue þe wynnynge. 14.. How Good Wife taught Dau. 170 in Q. Eliz. Acad. 49 Þei..Þat wyll thryue, and þer gode saue. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iii. 39, I haue fiue hundred Crownes, The thriftie hire I saued vnder your Father. 1753 Johnson Adventurer No. 84 ¶14 A nobleman's butler, who has furnished a shop with the money he has saved. 1842 Tennyson Dora 50 But Dora stored what little she could save, And sent it them by stealth. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vi. 95 He was able to save money for his son's education. |
b. absol. Now used esp. with reference to or in exhortations concerning the purchase of savings certificates, etc., instead of consumer goods.
| 1595 Lodge Fig for Momus H 1 b, Counsell, how to spend, and saue. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. ii. iii. I. 410 Whatever industry might acquire, if parsimony did not save and store up, the capital would never be the greater. 1859 Smiles Self-help ix. 234 Add guinea to guinea; scrape and save; and the pile of gold will gradually rise. 1878 Jevons Pol. Econ. ix. 86 It is idle to say that the better-paid working men cannot save. 1916 War Savings Oct. 12/2 A large number of circulars headed ‘Save for England’ have been distributed by the school children. Ibid. 13/1 Men and women are saving in Gloucestershire who never saved before because they have been taught that their 6d. per week..will help to end the War. Ibid. 16/1 Men are encouraged to save and help their country by joining the Association. 1942 J. A. Schumpeter Capitalism, Socialism & Democracy xviii. 210 Nor am I going to ask the reader to rely on the individual comrades' propensity to save. 1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (ed. 2) v. 169 By every imaginable device of publicity people are exhorted to save. 1961 E. S. Turner Phoney War xx. 292 This was merely an ingenious way of getting people to save. 1969 Whitaker's Almanac 1970 353/1 The Chancellor..went on to introduce a contractual savings scheme—for which he said he was glad to appropriate (from the Conservatives) the title ‘Save As You Earn’. 1978 Times 15 Mar. 21/8 The publication of Keynes' General Theory by its emphasis on the propensity to save (rather than the propensity to import) as the major cause of the insufficiency of demand, diverted attention from Harrod's approach. |
c. with up. Also absol.
| 1834 [see saved ppl. a. 2]. 1850 Smedley Frank Fairlegh iv, A parting gift from my little sister Fanny, who..had saved up her pocket-money during many previous months, in order to provide funds for this munificent present. 1884 Blackley Thrift & Indep. 20 To try the system of saving up a little week by week. Ibid. 57 If, by an effort, he save up..{pstlg}30. Ibid. 91, I set myself to save up for my own old age. |
18. To avoid spending, giving, or consuming (money, goods, etc.); to keep (a given amount) from being spent or consumed or lost and so retain it in one's possession. Also with indirect obj. (with or without to): To enable a person to avoid spending, giving, or losing.
| a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 545/345 Ki sauuer veut soun doner, Corteis seit de soun manger;..He may saue moneye and gete Þat wol be curteys of his mete. 1539 in W. A. J. Archbold Somerset Rel. Houses (1892) 73 Ther will be a great soome of money that shalbe salved to the kinges highnes therbye. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 6 b, And so consequentlie in their whole Armies to saue the pay of a great sort of Captaines..and other Officers. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 48 Thou hast saued me a thousand Markes in Linkes and Torches. Ibid. v. i. 99, I..will, to saue the blood on either side, Try fortune with him, in a Single Fight. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 207 The said Ianizare..will easily save a man more then his wages. 1661 Pepys Diary 20 Aug., When we came to look for our coach we found it gone, so we were fain to walk home afoot and saved our money. 1693 in C. R. Wilson Old Fort William (1906) I. 12 That old Maxim..That a Penny saved is two Pence gott. 1712 Swift Let. Eng. Tongue Wks. 1755 II. i. 197 You have already saved several millions to the publick. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 406 By carrying this plan into execution, the public..would save not less than four millions per annum. 1854 Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 257 With suitable flues, the saving of fuel is much greater when turf and wood are employed than is the case with coal;..1/3rd being saved in the case of wood, and 1/4th only in that of coal. 1860 Trollope Framley P. xxxii, Mr. Sowerby then got into another cab... Anyone else would have saved his shilling, as Mrs. Harold Smith's house was only just across Oxford Street. |
† b. absol. Of a commodity: To effect a saving in use, ‘to be cheap’ (J.).
| a 1626 Bacon Compounding of Metals Baconiana (1679) 94 Brass Ordnance..saveth both in the quantity of the Material, and in the charge and commodity of mounting & carriage. |
c. With immaterial obj., e.g. labour, time, distance to be travelled, etc.
| 1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Fam. Love B ij, Therefore saue labour for making any further reply hereunto, least you doe but lose your trauaile herein. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 8 He saues my labor by his owne approach. 1601 ― Twel. N. ii. ii. 6 You might haue saued mee my paines, to haue taken it away your selfe. 1612 Bacon Ess., Despatch (Arb.) 248 To chuse time, is to saue time. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 3 Fair weather beginning with the New Moon, made the Captain repent that he had not passed through the Phare of Messina, which would have saved him fifty miles in his course. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest iv, Edith..baked all the oatmeal cakes, which saved Alice a good deal of time. 1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat 149 We had dispensed with tea, so as to save time. |
d. to save one's breath or wind, to refrain from wasting one's argument or energy on a lost cause. (Perh. an ellipt. use of the proverbial phr. to keep (save, etc.) one's breath to cool one's porridge: see porridge n. 4.)
| 1926 F. W. Crofts Inspector French & Cheyne Mystery xi. 146 If your story's going to be more lies about St John Price and the Hull succession you may save your breath. 1941 Mencken in New Yorker 24 May 22/1 He might very well have saved his wind, for Bill soon had him. 1952 E. Caldwell Lamp for Nightfall iv. 36 Now stop making me mad, talking about a new dress that you haven't any need of. Save your breath for something dearer. Ibid. x. 101 You'd better be saving your wind for road work, and for doing chores. |
19. To be careful or economical in the use of; to use or consume sparingly.
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 160 His youthfull hose well sau'd, a world too wide For his shrunke shanke. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 62 For I eat sparingly; and sav'd my Provisions (my Bread especially) as much as possibly I could. 1729 Swift Direct. Serv., Butler Wks. 1751 XIV. 21 To avoid burning Day-light, and to save your Master's Candles. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xl, Next she enlarged on the advantage of saving old clothes to be what she called ‘beet-masters to the new’. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xxix, Everything..including the carpet and curtains—looked at once well worn and well saved. |
20. To treat carefully, so as to obviate or reduce fatigue, wear and tear, etc. to save oneself, to reduce the amount of one's exertions.
| [1756 Chesterfield Let. to Son 14 Dec., Adieu! I am going to the ball, to save my eyes from reading, and my mind from thinking.] 1785 G. A. Bellamy Apology (ed. 3) III. 82 To make use of the theatrical phrase, I never saved myself, but often suffered my feelings to possess me so entirely, as that they deprived me of the power of voice. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest xviii, My eyes are getting weak, and I wish to save them as much as possible. 1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Cov. v. 52 White-Stockings, whom I had ridden down [to the races], to save Brilliant. 1859 Geo. Eliot Lifted Veil ii, Supposing that he wished merely to save her nerves. 1907 Symons-Jeune Art of Punting 17 Beginners..in order to save themselves and ease the strain on their arms..shove crooked and turn the punt round. |
III. To avoid or prevent (something undesirable).
A development from sense 18; sense 21 arises naturally from the sense ‘to avoid paying or losing’. Cf. also sense 5.
21. To avoid for one's own part or enable another to avoid (some burden or inconvenience): occas. to avoid or obviate the necessity for. Const. indirect obj. of the person (oneself or another) who is relieved.
| 1606 G. W[oodcocke] tr. Justin Epit. Emp. Hh 3 b, By meanes whereof, a little tract of time would saue him a great deal of wrath. 1615 R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 75 And about midnight [he] departed towards Crates; which saved the geveing a present of 2 damaskt fowling peeces, yf he had staid till morninge. 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iv. xvii. 259 How might'st thou by this effugium have sav'd all thy misfortunes? 1681 Dryden Span. Friar iv. ii. 58 Will you not speak to save a Lady's Blush? 1699 ― Ep. J. Driden 11 Without their cost you terminate the cause And save the expense of long litigious laws. 1780 Mirror No. 95 Take my advice, my dear Bell, and save yourself the trouble. 1790 Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) I. vi. 168 My letters lie there for me, as it saves their being sent down to Rosebank. 1813 Southey Nelson II. 135 The hurt done by their splinters would have been saved also. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxiii, The best way's to let the blood barken upon the cut—that saves plasters. 1886 Manch. Exam. 13 Mar. 5/2 The only use of paper money is in saving the wear and tear of gold. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 77 A tendency to take quick steps, as if running forward to save a fall. |
† b. to save (a woman's) longing, to anticipate and so prevent it. Also transf. Obs.
| 1593 King Leir i. ii. 133 (Malone Soc.), Madam, to saue your longing, this it is. 1607 Shakes. Timon i. i. 261 Sir, you haue sau'd my longing, and I feed Most hungerly on your sight. 1614 B. Jonson Barth. Fair iii. i. (1631) 48 Looke, Win, doe, looke a Gods name, and saue your longing. 1656 Osborn Adv. Son ii. xvi. 54 Our Beldame Eve, to save her longing, sold us all for an Apple. 1665 Head Eng. Rogue (1874) I. 88 Come hither Sirrah, I know what you would have, I'le save your longing. |
c. Games. To prevent the opposing side from gaining (a run, goal, etc.). to save two, three, four runs (Cricket): to prevent the scoring of a second, third, or fourth run for a hit. Also (in football, hockey, etc.) absol. = to save a goal.
| 1816 Lambert in Box Eng. Game Cricket (1877) 34 Long Stop.—This man should stand a proper distance behind the wicket, to save a run, if the ball should not be stopped by the striker, or wicket keeper. 1850 ‘Bat’ Cricket. Manual (1851) 49 Long Leg.. usually stands to save four runs. 1867 Selkirk Guide to Cricket Ground 35 Saving the Run.—Stopping and returning the ball so quickly that the batsmen dare not attempt a run for fear of being run out. 1889 Field 5 Jan. 29/3 For the losers, Jackson in goal saved well on several occasions [hockey]. Ibid. 12 Jan. 65/2 But his shot was saved by the goal-keeper [football]. |
d. well saved: an applauding expression used when a rider has avoided a fall; also (in games) when a brilliant ‘save’ has been made.
| 1859 G. J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand I. i. 10 As he fell upon his head into the road, and recovered himself without unhorsing me,..‘Well saved, my lad, and devilish well ridden too’, said the jolly General. |
† 22. To afford protection from. Obs.
| 1583 Leg. Bp. St. Androis Pref. 46 in Satir. Poems Reform. I. 348 The plesant plane-trie will the leavs unfauld With fairest schaddow to save the sone in symmer. |
† 23. To meet or overcome (a doubt); = salve v.2 2. Obs. rare.
| 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 194 Right well, deere Gossip, ye advized have, (Said then the Foxe) but I this doubt will save. |
IV. Idiomatic uses of certain parts of the verb. (For those of the pr. pple. see saving prep.)
24. The infinitive to save has been used to mean: † a. On condition of not injuring. Cf. sense 9.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1260 Ac ich wolde to sauui lif & lume bringe him to ech lawe. [Cf. ante 1242: þat he vor his neueu wolde..Do hey amendement, sauue lume & lif.] |
† b. Saving, having regard to (one's honour, ‘presence’). See saving prep. 2.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 173 ‘Schyr’, said he,..‘To sauff ȝour presence, it [is] nocht swa’. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1008 And grant the frekis on fold farar to fall, Baith thair honouris to saif. |
† c. Except, excepting; = save prep.
| c 1425 Wyntoun Orig. Cron. iv. ix. 1170 Al þe cite þan fande þai Withe þar fais nere wptane, To sauff þe Capitalle allane. Ibid. iv. xvi. 1600 For nane þare gouernalle þar had, To sauff barnnys of ȝoutheide. |
† 25. The pa. pple. saved was used in absolute construction with a n., with the sense: Preserving..safe or intact, without detriment to, making reservation of. Cf. safe a. 5.
Sometimes placed before the n.: cf. except, considered.
| c 1400 Apol. Loll. 52 And þus he may lefuly, sauid his ordre. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 79 That he wolde submitte hym to his grace, his honoure and crowne of his realme salvede. 1487 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 390/2 Saved alwey to youre Grace..of the said Fee Ferme xviii li. v s. 1539 in W. A. J. Archbold Somerset Rel. Houses (1892) 71 We haue determyned (your lordeshippes pleasure savyd) to differ the same vnto our return. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 335, I haue aunswered your custome, least you should argue me of coynes, no otherwise then I might mine honour saued, and your name vnknowen. |
† V. 26. In combinations of verb-stem + object, used attrib. or adj., as save-soul, save-stake.
| 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 178 Such A Spirit were of A Save stake, if not promoting Prudence, as they call it. 1799 E. Du Bois Piece Family Biog. III. 129 Martha was gone on a save-soul pilgrimage to a neighbouring village. |
Add: [I.] [8.] g. Computing. To preserve the contents of (the whole or part of main memory) by transferring a copy to non-volatile storage, usu. tape or disk, from which it can subsequently be retrieved when required. In later use freq. with adv. or advb. phr. denoting the location where the copy is to be stored.
| 1961 Proc. National Symposium on Machine Translation (U.S.) 328 The information cell of the matching text form is saved. 1964 Proc. AFIPS Conf. XXVI. 354/1 Since both data and subroutines change from day to day, a working procedure was developed which consists of writing a disk save tape(s) daily. These areas are the only disk areas saved. 1979 Personal Computer World Nov. 49/1 To save programs they must first be moved out of the way of the DOS, control switched back to the 6502, 65DOS booted in and finally the program saved. 1984 Acorn User Nov. 99/1 An interrupt-driven program saver that automatically saves a copy of the current program in memory..to disc every four minutes or so. 1987 Desktop Publishing Today Nov. 33/1 You could take a sheet of Letraset, scan the complete alphabet, modify characters and then save it to the system as a font. |
▪ IV. save, quasi-prep. and conj.
(seɪv)
Forms: α. 3–5 sauf, 5–6 saufe, 5 sawf, sauff, saauf; 3–5 saf, 4–5 safe, saaf, 4–6 saff(e, 5 sef; 5–6 salf, 6 salfe, saulfe; 5–6 Sc. saif(f. β. 3–4 sauve, 4 sawve, 5 sawe, 4–6 salve, 4– save.
[Developed from safe a. 5, in imitation of the similar development in the use of the equivalent F. sauf.
Already in OF. the adj. sauf, fem. sauve, prefixed to a n. in the absolute construction (= L. salvō, salvā: see safe a. 5) had often the sense ‘being excepted’, so that it became (like the analogous except ppl. adj. in Eng.) functionally equivalent to a prep., and was eventually treated as such, the masc. form sauf being used even before a fem. n. Cf. Sp. salvo, Pr. sal.
The β forms may partly represent the OF. sauve in collocation with a fem. n., and partly the ME. form of the plural adj. But the later exclusive use of the form save is probably due to the identification of the word with the imperative of the vb.: cf. except, which appears to have been similarly apprehended as an imperative.
The use of a nominative after save (see 1 b) may perhaps be a trace of the originally adjectival character of the word; it is, however, to be noted that the same thing occurs with all the quasi-prepositional words of the same meaning, including even saving and excepting, which are in origin pr. pples. of transitive verbs.]
1. quasi-prep. Except, with the exception of, but. Often strengthened by the addition of only (alone, † alonely, † anerly, † one); also tautologically save and except, Sc. † bot saiff.
| α a 1300 Cursor M. 17288 + 438 Alle to-geder þai whore sauf thomas of ynde allone. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1749 Heȝest of alle oþer, saf onelych tweyne. c 1470 Henry Wallace xi. 134 Sexte and vi xvi to ded has dycht, Bot saiff vii men at fled out of thair sycht. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xx. vii. 808 Howe they were alle slayne sauf hym self al only. a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) S v, Al thinges haue an ende at last by deth, saufe onely deathe. 1538 Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 86 All the lightes of waxe in every church to be taken downe, saffe onely the roode-loft light. 1579 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 430 No kynd of..tymber..salfe onely fuell of wood for fyre. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 19485 Disciplis folud þai sa herd Þat þai þam draf vte o þair ward, Sauue þe apostels þat þam ledd. 13.. Gosp. Nicod. 482 (Addit. MS.) Bedrede I lay ffourty ȝhere fully sawe two. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 210 Saue Meede þe Mayden no mon dorste abyde. c 1380 Wyclif Last Age of the Church (1840) 28 Euery lettre in þe abece may be souned wiþ opyn mouþ saue .m. lettre one. c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. vi. 18 Trew frendes fonde he non, sawe Robert, steuenes son. 1451 Rolls of Parlt. V. 220/1 The last day save oon of august. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV 21 No Chronicler save one, maketh mencion what was the very cause. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 77 The aforesaid boats are..covered all save the ends with black cloth. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones viii. xi, We spent the next evening, save one, in London. 1808 G. Ellis Let. in Lockhart Scott (1837) II. iv. 143 The most pleasing poem in our language—save and except one or two of Dryden's fables. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cv. 23 No dance, no motion, save alone What lightens in the lucid east. 1878 Stubbs Const. Hist. III. xviii. 140 All that remained to England in France, save Calais, was lost. |
b. followed by the nominative of a pronoun. (App. the normal construction.)
| α c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxii. 245 Saf only thei that ben dwellynge with hym. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour 25 For ferde that ani other shulde haue the loue of her sauf he hym selff. c 1500 Three Kings' Sons 133 Then were they alle slayne, sauf y. |
| β c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 802 Saue I and a frere, In Engelond ther kan no man it make. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas ix. xxi[i]. (1494) F vj, There is a lyue left none of the blode Saue I alone of the royall lyne. 1528 Tindale Obed. Chr. Man 79 b, Wilt thou so teach..that no man shall have knowlege..in Gods worde save thou only? 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 66, I do intreat you, not a man depart, Saue I alone, till Antony haue spoke. Ibid. v. v. 69 All the Conspirators saue onely hee, Did that they did, in enuy of great Cæsar. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 814 That mortal dint, Save he who reigns above, none can resist. 1821 Byron Juan iii. Isles of Greece xvi, Where nothing, save the waves and I, May hear our mutual murmurs sweep. 1866 G. W. Dasent Gisli 5 No one has ever challenged me before this day, save thou. |
c. followed by the accusative of the pronoun.
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xxxvi. 5 For ther is noon other God, saue thee, Lord. 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 507 But all saue thee I fell with Curses. 1893 F. Thompson Hound of Heaven 180 Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee, Save Me, save only Me? |
† d. = but for. Obs.
| 1522 More De quat. Noviss. Wks. 83/1 Spiritual pride..carieth with it a blindnes almost incurable saue gods gret mercye. 1820 Keats Eve of St. Agnes xxv, She seem'd a splendid angel, newly drest, Save wings, for heaven. |
2. conj. Introducing a sentence which states an exception; now only in the full form save that; = except C. 1.
| α a 1300 Fall & Passion 23 in E.E.P. (1862) 13 God ȝaf him..foules bestis an þe frute saf o tre he him forbede. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 339 In his tyme þe monkes of Caunterbury..were nouȝt onliche to seculer men, sauf þat þey lefte nouȝt [liȝt]liche her chastite. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 36 Lych to the tothir, saf they be not garnysshed. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. ii. vii, My curage grew, for quhat cause I nocht wait, Saif that I hald me payit of thair estait. a 1533 Ld. Berners Golden Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) M j, His face was lyke a man, saufe it hadde but one eye. |
| β c 1350 Will. Palerne 436 Min hert hol i haue now..saue a fers feintise folwes me oft. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 216 He was despeyred, no thyng dorste he seye, Saue in his songes somwhat wolde he wreye His wo. 1388 Wyclif Mark vi. 5 And he myȝte not do there ony vertu, saue that he helide a fewe sijk men. 1547 Test. Ebor (Surtees) VI. 265 Salve onlie that the said Thomas shall [etc.]. 1617 Mure Misc. Poems xx. 6 My muse, q{supc}{suph} noght doth challenge worthy fame, Saue from Montgomery sche hir birth doth clayme. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 187 Naked from the waste vpwards, saue that their heads are couered. 1750 Gray Elegy 9 Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r The moping owl does to the moon complain. 1842 R. I. Wilberforce Rutilius & Lucius 270 Then all was still, save that a vast gush of fire rose up for a moment. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus xiv. 1 Calvus, save that as eyes thou art beloved, I could verily loathe thee for the morning's Gift. |
¶ confused use.
| 1530 Tindale Answ. More iii. Wks. (1573) 305/2 M. More..proueth nothing saue sheweth his ignoraunce. |
b. = ‘But that’, ‘were it not that’. Cf. 1 d. ? Obs.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. lxvi. 14 From these would I be gone, Saue that to dye, I leaue my loue alone. |
c. Introducing a hypothetical case of exception, = ‘unless’, ‘if..not’; cf. except C. 2.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 119 And thus I mai you sothli telle, Save only that I crie and bidde, I am in Tristesce al amidde And fulfild of Desesperance. 1870 Tennyson Holy Grail 80 Who wept and said, That save they could be pluck'd asunder, all My quest were but in vain. Ibid. 86 Save that he were the swine thou spakest of. 1897 F. Thompson New Poems 186 'Tis said there were no thought of hell, Save hell were taught. |
† d. As an adversative, = ‘but on the contrary’.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 77 Saue hit nis not bi þe Bisschop þat þe Boye precheþ. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. ii. v. 163 And if..þe herte be hurt, þere lijþ no cure þeron, saue he schal die anoon; for þe herte takiþ no lijf of no lyme of al þe bodi, saue þe herte ȝeueþ lyues to euery lyme of þe bodi. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 188 Kynde vs hath grantid two eighen and two eeris, Saue but one tonge. |
3. Followed by an adv. or advb. phrase or clause, expressing the manner, time, etc., in regard to which an exception is to be made; = except C. 3.
| α c 1420 Hoccleve Min. Poems 154/405 Womman, with my swerd, slee wolde I thee heere, Sauf for awe of god. c 1450 Merlin i. 12 Be-fill yowe neuer this merveyle saf ones? 1540–1 Elyot Image Gov. (1549) 113 Beyng not instructed in any occupacion or science, saulfe onely in feates perteynyng to warre. |
| β c 1320 Sir Beues 2270 Al is pes þar ichaue went, Saue in þe lond of Dabilent. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 172 And yit withoute experience Salve only of illusion. 1577 Kendall Flowers of Epigr. 7 Thy garments all and some Do smell of Mirrhe, and saue of Mirrhe no sent doth from thee come. 1598 H. B. Rdr. to Chaucer in Speght a v b, Unknowne to vs, saue only by thy bookes. 1611 Bible 1 Kings xxii. 31 Fight neither with small nor great, saue only with the king of Israel. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 258 Over the Tent a Cloud Shall rest by Day, a fierie gleame by Night, Save when they journie. 1750 Gray Elegy 7 Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight. 1864 M. J. Higgins Ess. (1875) 165 Save and except in a dead calm she is utterly unseaworthy. 1875 Manning Mission Holy Ghost xiv. 397 For fifty years he never left Rome, save only when he went out of the walls to visit the Seven Churches. 1879 Froude Cæsar viii. 79 There was no longer, therefore, any excuse for its meeting, save on special occasions. |
b. Followed by an inf. (with or without to).
| c 1400 Beryn 660 He..had no thing to doon Saff shake a lite his eris, & trus, & be goon. c 1450 Myrc Festial 17 ‘What schall þat serues ben’. Þen sayde he: ‘þe same, worde for worde, þat ys yn hor natyuyte, saue turne þe natyvyte ynto þe concepcyon’. 1534 Tindale John xiii. 10 He that is wesshed, nedeth not save to wesshe his fete. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xl, If thou hast aught to do, save to witness the misery thou hast caused. |
c. save for: exception being made for, but for.
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 303 Of all one paine, saue for a night of groanes Endur'd of her, for whom you bid like sorrow. 1610 ― Temp. i. ii. 282 Then was this Island (Saue for the Son, that [s]he did littour heere..) not honour'd with A humane shape. 1879 Escott England xxv. (1881) 403 The well-conducted soldier, save and except for a more or less constant ennui..may pass his days in comparative comfort. 1879 M{supc}Carthy Own Times II. 283 The Black Sea is, save for one little outlet.., a huge land-locked lake. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman iv. xvi. 262 Saue for the slumbering fire, all was dark within the house. |
¶ 4. Phrases like save your grace, save your reverence belong to safe a. 5. See also grace n. 6 d, reverence n. 5; and cf. saving.
‘Save your displeasure’ (quot. c 1500) is perh. due to a confusion between this use and sense 1 above.
| 13.. Seuyn Sag. (W.) 687 Sauue your grace, wene ich hit nowt, Hit euere com in his thout. c 1500 Three Kings' Sons 139 It semeth, sauf your displeasir, that [etc.]. |
▪ V. save
obs. form of safe, salve n.1