salve
pronunciation
How to pronounce salve in British English:
UK [sælv]
How to pronounce salve in American English:
US [sæv, sɑv]
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- Noun:
- semisolid preparation (usually containing a medicine) applied externally as a remedy or for soothing an irritation
- anything that remedies or heals or soothes
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- Verb:
- save from ruin, destruction, or harm
- apply a salve to, usually for the purpose of healing
Word Origin
- salve
- salve: [OE] The central semantic element of modern English salve is ‘healing’, but its underlying etymological meaning is ‘oily substance’. It goes back to a prehistoric West Germanic *salbō, which had relatives in Greek élpos ‘oil’ and Sanskrit srpras ‘greasy’. The Germanic from has evolved into German salbe and Dutch zalf as well as English salve.
- salve (n.)
- Old English sealf "healing ointment," from West Germanic *salbo- "oily substance" (cognates: Old Saxon salba, Middle Dutch salve, Dutch zalf, Old High German salba, German salbe "ointment"), from PIE *solpa-, from root *selp- "fat, butter" (cognates: Greek elpos "fat, oil," Sanskrit sarpis "melted butter"). The figurative sense of "something to soothe wounded pride, etc." is from 1736.
- salve (v.1)
- Old English sealfian "anoint (a wound) with salve," from Proto-Germanic *salbojanan (cognates: Dutch zalven, German salben, Gothic salbon "to anoint"), from the root of salve (n.). Figurative use from c. 1200. Related: Salved; salving.
- salve (v.2)
- "to save from loss at sea," 1706, back-formation from salvage (n.) or salvable. Related: Salved; salving.
Example
- 1. Another way to open up nasal passages is to dab mentholated salve under the nose , according to webmd .
- 2. Seen in that light , china 's announcement can be seen as a political salve -- because economically , there are sufficient clues in saturday 's statement to believe that any exchange-rate adjustment will be insignificant .
- 3. Food for the spirit . And salve for my conscience .
- 4. The salve will heal slight burns .
- 5. The salve will help to heal the wound .