Save

How to spell save

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce save

What does save mean?

1. verbTo keep something safe, to rescue it, or to set it aside so it is not lost or spent.
2. prepositionExcept for; other than.

Save in a sentence

• verb

  The lifeguard managed to save the swimmer from the rip current.

• preposition

  Every seat was taken save the one beside the door.

• verb

  They try to save a small amount of each paycheque for emergencies.

• preposition

  The office was empty save for the night cleaner.

Where does save come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word save comes from the Latin verb salvare, meaning 'to make safe' or 'to rescue', which was built on the adjective salvus, 'safe', 'unharmed', or 'whole'. It travelled into English during the 1200s by way of Old French sauver, carrying the religious sense of rescuing a soul from danger before broadening to ordinary kinds of rescue. From the idea of keeping something out of harm came the everyday meaning of setting money aside so it is not lost or spent, and later the modern computing sense of storing work so it is not erased. The very same salvus root still lives inside the familiar words salvage, salvation, and safe itself. Because the spelling stays so close to the simple sound, save is one of the rare members of this family that holds no real trap.

How the word is built

• sav- (from Latin salvare: to make safe)
• -e