salvo Italian · revision 39158

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1264, peace treaty between Pisa and Tunis|origins=ine-pro *solh₂-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈsal.vo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''salvo''' (feminine salva, masculine plural salvi, feminine plural salve)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Lucchese had ''salve che'' “except that”, and Ticinese has ''salz che'', influenced by ''senza''.^(DEI|3327)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|salvus|t=whole, unharmed, safe]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|3326) The same word is [[fr|sauf]], [[oc|salf]], [[ca|salf]], [[es|salvo]], [[pt|salvo]], Logudorese [[m|sc|salvu]] and [[fur|salf]]; it is found in all the Romance languages except Romanian.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3326) The use as a preposition, “except”, is shared with French and with Old Lucchese.^(REW 1935)

+

+ Latin [[m|la|salvus]] goes back to [[itc-pro|*salawos]] and [[ine-pro|*solh₂-|t=whole]].^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) It is related to [[m|la|salūs|t=health, safety]] and has close cognates in [[osc|salavs]] and [[xum|saluom]], in [[sa|सर्व|tr=sárva|t=whole, all]] and in [[grc|ὅλος|tr=hólos|t=whole]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) De Vaan reconstructs the Indo-European form as [[ine-pro|*slH-u-]].^(de Vaan 2008) DELI notes the religious and sacral character of the word.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The Late Latin derivatives [[m|la-lat|salvō]], [[m|la-lat|salvātor]] and [[m|la-lat|salvātiō]] gave [[salvare]], [[salvatore]] and [[salvazione]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is the adjective in the peace treaty between the Pisans and the emir of Tunis of 1264, with the sense “having escaped a danger without harm”.^(DELI 1999) The preposition “except” first appears in the ''Novellino'', at the end of the 13th century.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses ''salvo'' for one saved from eternal damnation, a sense that remains in religious language.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3326) In the 14th century ''salvo'' as a noun meant a clause reserving something in a sale or grant: Giovanni Villani writes ''i patti e salvi furon questi'', “these were the terms and reservations”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010) The preposition spread in the 14th century: Villani writes that a city had only one bridge over the Arno, ''salvo che un solo ponte'', and Boccaccio and Petrarch use it freely.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Absolute constructions modelled on the Latin ablative, such as ''salvi i diritti'' “without prejudice to the rights”, belong to legal and formal style, as do ''salvo errori e omissioni'' and ''salvo buon fine'' in commerce.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Treccani 2011) Compound nouns built with the verb ''salva-'' multiplied: ''salvadanaio'' “money box”, already Medieval Latin ''salvadinari'' at Bologna in 1262, ''salvagente'' “life buoy” (1866) and ''salvapunte'' (1942).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1262 – Medieval Latin ''salvadinari'' “money box” is recorded at Bologna.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1264 – The adjective appears in the peace treaty between Pisa and Tunis.^(DELI 1999)

+ * End of the 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses ''salvo'' “except”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – Giovanni Villani uses ''salvo'' as a noun for a reservation in an agreement.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ * 1866 – ''Salvagente'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|safe]], unhurt: having escaped a danger unharmed: ''Dopo l'incidente sono usciti tutti salvi dall'auto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Intact, undamaged; of abstract things, not compromised: ''Abbiamo perso la partita, ma l'onore è salvo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Out of danger: ''Dopo l'operazione il paziente è salvo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(in absolute constructions)'' Without prejudice to, safeguarding: ''salvi gli accordi già presi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(religion)'' Saved, having attained eternal [[salvezza|alt=salvation]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|except]], but, apart from: ''Sono venuti tutti salvo mio fratello.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Barring, unless there is: ''salvo imprevisti''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # ''Salvo che'', ''salvo se'': except that, unless, ''salvo'' with the infinitive: except, but then: ''Dice di non volere aiuto, salvo poi lamentarsi.''^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[salvare]]

+ * [[salvezza]]

+ * [[salvifico]]

+ * [[salvadanaio]]

+ * [[salvagente]]

+ * [[salvamento]]

+ * [[salvacondotto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[salute]]

+ * [[salvatore]]

+ * [[la|salvus]]

+ * [[fr|sauf]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Sano e salvo'' means “safe and sound”;^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) ''in salvo'' “to safety, in a safe place” (''mettersi in salvo''), probably short for ''in luogo salvo''^(DELI 1999), in northern use also “aside, in store”;^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) ''a man salva'' “freely, without restraint”, as in ''rubare a man salva''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) A different dialect word ''salvo'' “dirty”, from Lombardic, is used around Arezzo and in Romagna (''séluv'').^(Cortelazzo & Marcato 1998|426)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}