safe

Pronunciation

• IPA: /seɪf/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sauf, also saf,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French sauf (“protected; assured of salvation”), also salf,^[2][3][4] from Latin salvus (“uninjured, healthy, safe”),^[2][4] related to salūs (“good health”) and salūber (“healthful”),^[2][5][6] from Proto-Indo-European *sol- (“whole, well-kept”).^[2][4] Hoad relates it to Greek ὅλος (hólos, “whole”) and Sanskrit sárva-.^[7][6] The OED compares the development of safe from sauf with gage from Old North French gauge.^[2] The noun, a strongbox, was earlier save, from the verb save, and was later assimilated to the adjective.^[8][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Not damned, redeemed”: about 1280^[3] or about 1300, when it also meant “unhurt, free from danger”.^[2][3] The OED's first quotation for “unhurt” is from 1297.^[9]

Semantic evolution

“Healed, healthy” is from before 1325.^[3][9] The spellings saf and safe are from about 1330 and 1343.^[3] Safe and sound is from before 1300,^[9] or about 1300.^[2] Places not exposed to danger are safe from the late 14th century,^[2] actions “free from risk” by the 1580s,^[2] and “reliable, not dangerous” from about 1600.^[2] “Cautious, conservative” is from 1823.^[2] The noun, a chest for keeping food from insects, is from about 1440,^[9] or the early 15th century as save, from French en sauf “in safety”;^[2] the spelling with -f- is by the 1680s.^[2] The fire-proof and burglar-proof safe for valuables is from 1820,^[9] and safe as a colloquial word for a condom from 1897.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1280 – redeemed, not damned.^[3]
• 1297 – unhurt.^[9]
• before 1300 – safe and sound.^[9]
• late 14th century – not exposed to danger.^[2]
• c. 1440 – noun, a food safe.^[9]
• 1580s – free from risk.^[2]
• 1820 – a strongbox for valuables.^[9]
• 1823 – cautious.^[2]
• 1897 – a condom.^[9]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Protected from danger, harm or risk; secure.
2. Unhurt: safe and sound.
3. Not likely to cause harm or risk.
4. Cautious or conservative: a safe choice.
5. (baseball) Having reached a base without being put out.

Noun

1. A strong metal box with a lock, for storing valuables.
2. A ventilated cupboard for storing food.
3. (informal) A condom.

Word family

• safely
• safeness
• firesafe
• safecracker
• supersafe
• fail-safe
• safe-conduct
• safe-deposit

Related words

• save
• salvage
• salvation
• salute
• salutary
• solid
• whole
• safety
• vouchsafe

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press