salvator

Forms

salvātor m (genitive salvātōris, feminine salvātrīx); third declension^[1] A vulgar spelling salbātor is found in an inscription.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin salvō (“to save”) + -tor, an agent noun.^[2][3][4] The verb comes from salvus (“safe, unharmed”).^[4][5] It was the Christian rendering of Ancient Greek σωτήρ (sōtḗr, “saviour”) and of the name of Jesus; the classical word was servātor.^[6][2]

It is the source of Italian salvatore and Spanish salvador, and through Old French sauveour of English savior.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Lactantius,^[4] and Georges also cites it from him;^[2] in the Christian fathers it is above all the title of Christ, the Saviour.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Outside Christian use it meant any saviour or preserver: Martianus Capella reports that Cicero would not render the Greek Sōtēr as salvator,^[6] and an inscription is dedicated to Iovī Salvātōrī, “Jupiter the Saviour”.^[6] The Vulgate uses it in Isaiah.^[6]

Medieval Latin used it for a rescuer, for the Saviour in the formulas of charters and in the dedications of churches,^[7] for one who held a protective right,^[8] and in Britain for the salvagers of a wrecked ship's cargo.^[7] English took the word from Old French about 1300.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius uses it.^[4][2]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in Isaiah.^[6][4]
• 5th century AD – Martianus Capella discusses it as a rendering of the Greek Sōtēr.^[6][4]
• c. 1300 – English borrows it from Old French as saveour.^[5]
• 1328 – An English court roll uses it for salvagers of a wreck.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A saviour, preserver, rescuer.^[6][2][7]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The Saviour, Christ.^[6][9][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) One who exercises a protective right over others.^[8]
4. (Medieval Latin) A salvager of cargo from a wreck.^[7]

Related words

• salvō
• salvus
• servātor

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson