Etymologically
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safe

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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

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