safety English · revision 3178

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 14th century|origins=la salvus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈseɪf.ti/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sauvete]], also saufte and safte,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|sauvete|t=safety, safeguard; salvation; security]] (earlier salvetet),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) or Anglo-French salveté, saufté,^(MW Collegiate) from [[la-med|salvitās|t=safety]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from [[la|salvus|t=uninjured, in good health, safe]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) which is also the source of [[safe]], [[save]], [[salvage]] and [[salvation]].^(Cresswell 2021) Etymonline takes salvus back to [[ine-pro|*sol-|t=whole, well-kept]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The state of being safe, freedom from harm or danger: early 14th century;^(Etymonline) the OED's earliest sense, “salvation of the soul”, is from before 1300 and is now obsolete,^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) and close custody or confinement is from 1338.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the late 14th century ''safety'' also meant a means of safety, a safeguard.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Johnson (1755) defined it simply as “freedom from danger”, with a quotation from ''Macbeth''.^(Johnson 1755) In the 19th century the word came to name devices: the trigger-lock on a gun by 1881, perhaps short for ''safety-lock'' (1877).^(Etymonline) In North American football a ''safety'' was first a score against one's own team, by 1881, and then a defensive position, by 1908.^(Etymonline) Compounds multiplied: ''safety-valve'' from 1797 (figurative from 1818), ''safety-razor'' by 1877, ''safety-belt'' from 1840, first for window washers and firefighters, and ''safety-net'' by 1916, figurative by 1950.^(Etymonline) The proverb ''there is safety in numbers'' echoes the biblical Proverbs, and Jane Austen used the modern wording in ''Emma'' (1814).^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, “to make safe, to secure against failure”, is originally American, from the 20th century.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – salvation of the soul.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 14th century – freedom from harm or danger.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1338 – close custody.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – a safeguard.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1797 – ''safety-valve''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1814 – ''safety in numbers'', in Jane Austen's ''Emma''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1881 – a gun's trigger-lock; a safety in football.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1927 – verb, to make safe.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The condition of being safe from [[danger]], [[risk]] or [[injury]].^(AHD)^(NODE 1998)

+ # A device that prevents accidental operation, as a lock on a [[firearm]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(American football)'' A play in which the offense downs the ball behind its own goal line, scoring two points for the defense.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(American football)'' A defensive back who plays deepest, to guard against long passes and runs.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make safe; to protect against failure or accident.^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[biosafety]]

+ * [[supersafety]]

+ * [[unsafety]]

+ * [[safety curtain]]

+ * [[safety lock]]

+ * [[free safety]]

+ * [[safety belt]]

+ * [[margin of safety]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[safe]]

+ * [[save]]

+ * [[salvage]]

+ * [[salvation]]

+ * [[salve]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In west Somerset dialect a ''safety'' was a slow-burning fuse used in blasting.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}