salvation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sælˈveɪ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English savacioun, borrowed from Old French salvaciun, and directly from Late Latin salvātiō,^[2][3][4] a Church Latin translation of Ancient Greek σωτηρία (sōtēría),^[3][5] formed from salvō (“to save”) (see save).^[2][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The saving of the soul, deliverance from sin and its consequences: about 1200 in Etymonline, probably before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle in Barnhart, before 1225 in the OED.^[3][2][7]

Semantic evolution

The general sense, preservation from destruction, ruin or loss, followed by about 1374, as did a source or means of saving, a person or thing that saves.^[7] Year of salvation, a year counted from the birth of Christ, is from 1560,^[7] the phrase to work out one's own salvation from 1535,^[7] and transferred and figurative uses from 1886.^[7] With a capital, it has stood for the Salvation Army since 1889.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – the saving of the soul.^[3]
• c. 1374 – preservation from harm.^[7]
• 1535 – to work out one's salvation.^[7]
• 1560 – year of salvation.^[7]
• 1889 – the Salvation Army.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (Christianity) Deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption.
2. Preservation or rescue from harm, ruin or loss.
3. A person or thing that saves someone from harm.

Word family

• salvational
• salvationist
• salvationism

Related words

• salvage
• save
• safe
• salve

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press