Etymologically
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This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:08. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈseɪ.vɪŋ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English save + -ing in Middle English:[2][3] the noun is the verbal noun of the verb save, and the preposition is from its present participle,[4][2] perhaps modelled on touching.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, “salvation”, from the early 14th century in Etymonline,[6] and rescuing or protecting from before 1300 in the OED.[7] The adjective, “delivering from sin and death”, is from about 1300.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The preposition, “except”, is from about 1375, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales,[4] and “without offence to”, as in saving your reverence, from before 1387.[4][6] A reservation or saving clause is from 1477, now only in law.[7] Economy in spending is from 1551,[7] the 1550s in Etymonline.[6] Savings, sums saved over time, is from 1727 in Etymonline,[6] 1737 in the OED.[7] The adjective “preserving from peril” is from 1535,[7] and a quality that redeems is from 1599;[7] the non-religious saving grace is by 1903.[6] The savings bank is by 1817 and the savings account by 1882.[6] Johnson in 1755 gave the adjective as “frugal, parsimonious”.[8]

Timeline

  • a. 1300 – rescue; the saving power of grace.[7]
  • c. 1375 – preposition, except.[4]
  • 1477 – a reservation.[7]
  • 1551 – economy.[7]
  • 1727 – savings.[6]
  • 1817 – savings bank.[6]
  • 1903 – a non-religious saving grace.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A reduction in spending or cost: a saving of 20 per cent.
  2. savings: money saved, especially in a bank.
  3. The avoidance of waste; economy.
  4. Rescue from harm or loss.
  5. (law) An exception or reservation.

Adjective

  1. That saves or rescues; redeeming: a saving grace.
  2. Thrifty, economical.

Preposition

  1. With the exception of; except.
  2. (archaic) Without disrespect to: saving your presence.

Word family

  • savingly
  • lifesaving
  • laborsaving
  • space-saving
  • timesaving
  • daylight saving
  • daylight saving time

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.