| 释义 |
▪ I. † save, n.1 Obs.
[ad. L. salvia sage n.1, whence OE. saluie; assimilated to save v.]
Sage.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1855 Fermacies of herbes, and eek saue They dronken, for they wolde hir limes haue. a1450Pol. Rel. & Love Poems 287 So þat he drynke save or anteoche.
▪ II. save, n.2|seɪv|
[f. save v.]
1. An act of saving; a piece of economy. dial. and vulgar. (See E.D.D.)
1906Daily Chron. 9 Feb. 4/4 The fact is, apart from..the save in gas and firing,..when the year's finished I've calculated I shall make a profit on it.
2. Football, Hockey, etc. An act of preventing the opposite side from scoring. Now usu. such an action performed by the goal-keeper.
1890Field 1 Nov. 670/1 Coventry [a half-back] came to the rescue with a plucky save. 1892Pall Mall G. 1 Mar. 2/1 Gay, in goal, made no mistake and several excellent saves. 1942Sun (Baltimore) 26 Jan. 4/1 Gil Schuerholz..made astounding saves all afternoon. 1954Encounter Feb. 58/2 The highlights of a [football] game, a spectacular save, a balanced evasive run..become evocative images. 1960B. Liddell My Soccer Story x. 68 One save of Bert's..was of the truly miraculous type... The ball..sped like a bullet towards the left-hand corner..but with a marvellous leap..Bert turned it over the bar. 1977News of World 17 Apr. 23/4 Arsenal lost the match the precise second that Liverpool's England goalkeeper Ray Clemence made a world-class save from Frank Stapleton.
3. Bridge. = sacrifice n. 5 d. Freq. in phr. cheap save.
1927Observer 31 July 14/5 Now consider the position if Z had doubled ‘Six Hearts’ instead of going on with Spades..which would have saved the game and rubber. A cheap save and well worth while! 1928A. E. M. Foster Auction Bridge iv. 200 (heading) A good save on majority bidding. 1974Country Life 3 Oct. 975/3 A hand from a recent session... Trying for a cheap save.
Add:[2.] b. Baseball. The credit given to a relief pitcher for maintaining the team's lead through a threatening situation in a game won by the pitcher's team; also, the act of preserving the lead in this way. (Chiefly as a statistical measure.)
1962Washington Daily News 3 July 27/2 They had two on base when Wagner came up with his save. 1963Official Baseball Guide 223 Only one save could be given in a game, and a reliever who received the victory was not eligible for a save. 1977Washington Post 5 June d8/2 A junior All-Metropolitan selection who..was credited with a save in yesterday's triumph. 1985Globe & Mail (Toronto) 9 Oct. c3/1 Pitchers are given two points for each save and relief win. 1987First Base Summer 13/1 A reliever is credited with a save if he comes into the game with his team ahead and keeps them there.
4. Computing. An act of saving a file: see *save v. 8 g.
1982380z Disc System User Guide App. B. 7 Save, the transfer of a program or data from immediate (and usually volatile) memory to a backing store of non-volatile memory (usually disc or tape). 1984S. Curran Word Processing for Beginners ix. 116 When the disc looks to be around three-quarters full, it is actually getting full to bursting, and will be liable to reject further saves.
▪ III. save, v.|seɪv|
Forms: α. 3–5 (6 Sc.) salve; Sc. 5–6 sa(u)lf(f, 6 salfe, salffe. β. 3–5 sauve; also (chiefly north. and Sc.) 3–6 sauf(e, 4–5 sawf(e, sawff, 4–6 sauff. γ. 4 Kent. sove (sovi, sovy). δ. 3– save; also (chiefly north. and Sc.) 4–6 saw(e, 4–5 saf(e, 4–6 saff(e; Sc. 5–6 saif(f, (6 saaf).
[a. OF. salver, sauver (= Pr., Sp., Pg. salvar, It. salvare):—late L. salvāre to save, f. L. salv-us safe.]
I. To rescue or protect.
1. trans. To deliver or rescue from peril or hurt; to make safe, put in safety. Const. from, † out of.
a. a living being.
c1250Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 32 Lord saue us for we perisset. 13..Guy Warw. 7226 God..þat..heldest Daniel fram þe lyoun, Saue me fram þis foule dragoun. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 116 To saf his douchtir fra þat wrak. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 1099 Thus may thow saif me fra syte. a1533Ld. Berners Huon xc. 284 He that alwayes hath saued me out of all perelles wyll not forsake me at this tyme. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 55 Gif ȝe..salve his servandis ffre the daith so far as ȝe may. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 3 One that I sau'd from drowning. 1692R. L'Estrange Fables ix. 9 Save a Thiefe from the Gallows, and he'll Cut your Throat. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 63 Did not you come Eleven of you into the Boat, where are the Ten? Why were not they sav'd and you lost? 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxii, She fell on her knees, and thanked the Power which had saved her husband. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. vii, ‘O Mr. Symmes!—save me—do save me—do hide me!’ said Eliza.
b. one's life (similarly, one's body, carcass, head, neck, etc.). to save one's skin, to escape unhurt. to save one's bacon: see bacon n. 5 a. Also used colloq. in fig. phr. to save (someone's) life, to give timely assistance, esp. a stimulating drink.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9231 So þat to saui is lif þe castel vp hii ȝolde. 13..K. Alis. 3811 He lefte his pray, and fleygh to hors, For to save his owne cors. 1470Henry Wallace ii. 271 His fostyr modyr..Did mylk to warme, his liff giff scho mycht saiff. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxvii. 230 He besought our lorde god to saue his body fro mysfortune. c1570W. Wager The longer thou livest 477 (Brandl), Neither mockes nor gaudes shall your skinne saue. 1611Shakes. Cymb. v. iii. 67 To day, how many would haue giuen their Honours To haue sau'd their Carkasses? 1685[see neck n.1 3 d]. 1803Med. Jrnl. IX. 458 A great many lives were saved by the salutary practice of inoculation. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxi. IV. 544 To have done all in his power to save both the head of Stafford and the head of Russell. 1896A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xlvii, See my neck and save your own. 1914[see gesundheit]. 1938E. Waugh Scoop i. ii. 14 God bless you, Julia. You've saved my life. 1950‘J. Tey’ To love & be Wise xii. 153 Saved my life, you have! I missed the bus. 1955M. Allingham Beckoning Lady iv. 62 Tea, darling? Bless you, you're saving my life. 1977D. Bagley Enemy xxviii. 218 ‘A sherry,’ she said. ‘A sherry, to save my life.’
c. a people, state, city.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 106 His douchtir..to þe dragone suld be gyffine, to sauff þe ton. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. v. (1883) 59 He shold employe alle his entente to saue the comyn wele. 1533Bellenden Livy i. v. (S.T.S.) I. 34 My citee was sauffit be þi helpe. 1607Shakes. Cor. v. iii. 133 If it were so, that our request did tend To saue the Romanes, thereby to destroy The Volces whom you serue. 1728Pope Dunc. i. 197 Could Troy be sav'd by any single hand. 1852Tennyson Ode Wellington 200 Yea, let all good things await Him who cares not to be great, But as he saves or serves the state. 1894J. T. Fowler Adamnan Introd. p. xxi, The Bards were saved, but reformed.
d. To rescue (property) from shipwreck, fire, etc.
1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. xli. 95 There was kindled in the same [ship] a great fire, so that nothing was saued, but onely the men. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 156 Go, go, be gone, to saue your Ship from wrack. 1615R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 73 The fyre was so vehement that littell or nothing was saved. 1787Park Mar. Insurances 141 Whereas the circumstance of the lighters being saved, and the ship lost, was accidental. 1878M. W. Hungerford Molly Bawn xxxviii, I saved them [sc. diamonds] from the fire.., and have had them re-set.
e. absol.
1560Bible (Geneva) Isa. lix. 1 The Lords hand is not shortened, that it can not saue. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. ii. 80 Your husband he is gone to saue farre off, Whilst others come to make him loose at home. 1732Pope Ess. Man ii. 201 The same ambition can destroy or save. 1781Cowper Charity 226 Oh, 'tis a godlike privilege to save! 1860W. Whiting Hymn, Eternal Father, strong to save.
f. Hyperbolically in trivial use, as to save (one's) life (or occas. soul): usu. following statement in negative, denoting lack of ability or intention to do something.
1848Trollope Kellys & O'Kellys III. v. 106, I shan't remain long. If it was to save my life and theirs, I can't get up small talk for the rector and his curate. 1873C. M. Yonge Pillars of House III. xxvii. 88 ‘Does she go to their church?’ ‘Oh no, she wouldn't to save her life—she thinks it quite shocking.’ 1893Yonge & Coleridge Strolling Players iii. 21, I couldn't act to save my life. 1916A. Bennett These Twain iii. xix. 436 ‘What will you have to eat?’ said Maggie. ‘Nothing. I couldn't eat to save my life.’ 1920E. O'Neill Beyond Horizon iii. i. 128, I couldn't get to sleep to save my soul. 1941J. Cary Herself Surprised xxxiv. 82 It took even Bill six months to get her into a motor, when motors came in, and she wouldn't telephone now to save her life. 1973E. Berckman Victorian Album 192 She must have..dressed in record time, but to save my life I couldn't tell you how she looked or what she had on.
2. Theol. To deliver (a person, the soul) from sin and its consequences; to admit to eternal bliss. [Gr. σῴζειν, L. (Vulg.) salvum facere, salvare, salvificare.]
a1225Leg. Kath. 1025 Monnes unmihte; þet he neodeles nom upon him seoluen, us for to saluin. 1340Ayenb. 98 Godes zone þet com to þe wordle to zeche an to souy þet þet wes uorlore. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 82 Tech me..Hou I may saue my soule. 1382Wyclif Mark xvi. 16 He that schal bileue, and schal be baptisid, schal be sauyd [v.r. saaf]; sothli he that schal bileue not, schal be dampned. [So 1535 Coverdale, 1611.] ― James i. 21 In myldenesse receyue ȝe the word insent, that mai saue ȝoure soules. [So in later versions.] c1449Pecock Repr. ii. xviii. 261 If it be seid..‘The crosse of Crist saued the world..’, the dewe vndirstonding ther of is this: ‘Crist bi his crosse..saued the world’. a1500–34Coventry Corpus Chr. Plays, Shearmen 546 A seyd there schuld a babe be borne,..To sawe mankynd that wasse for-lorne. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 20 b, I am passed my purgatory, and I am saued. 1549Latimer 6th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 166 We can not be saued wythout fayeth, and fayth commeth by hearynge of the worde. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 75 For there is no christian that meanes to be saued by beleeuing rightly, can euer beleeue such impossible passages of grossenesse. 1666Bunyan Grace Abound. §202, I was again much under this Question, Whether the Blood of Christ was sufficient to save my Soul? 1786Burns For G. H. Esq. 4 But with such as he, where'er he be, May I be sav'd or d―'d. c1830Moore Epitaph on Tuft Hunter 20 He'd rather be Genteelly damn'd beside a Duke Than sav'd in vulgar company. 1840Carlyle Heroes iv, Luther learned now that a man was saved not by singing masses, but by the infinite grace of God. 1893F. Thompson Poems 61 There is no expeditious road To pack and label men for God, And save them by the barrel-load.
absol.a1340Hampole Psalter xiii. 1 Þat is, þare is na god þat dampnnes or safes. 1858Arnot Laws fr. Heaven Ser. ii. xiii. 101 It is grace accepted that saves.
b. in asseverative phrases, as I hope to be saved, † so God (or Christ) save me, etc.
c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 808 Ye shul paye fourty pound, so god me saue. c1450Holland Howlat 120 So me Crist saif. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 300 As I be saved, ye be ful gentil and noble. 1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 23 Dec., Remember poor Presto, that wants you sadly, as hope saved. 1711Ibid. 30 June. 1749Fielding Tom Jones viii. xi, As I hope to be saved, I will never mention a word of it.
c. transf. To reclaim from moral laxity, or the like; to be the ‘salvation’ of.
1894Sir E. Sullivan Woman 98 How often you hear it said that marriage has improved a man—that it has saved him!
3. Used in certain formulas of benediction, greeting, etc.; as God save you! † Also (in greetings) with omission of the subject.
(God) save the mark: see mark n.1 18.
c1330Arth. & Merl. 7034 (Kölbing) Wele yfounden, child Wawayn, Crist saue þi miȝt & þi mayn. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2250 God saue al this faire compaignye. Amen. 1530Palsgr. 698/1 God save you, whiche sayeng we use whan we come firste to ones presence. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 70 Sir Protheus: 'saue you: saw you my Master? 1632Massinger City Madam iv. iv, Luke. Then, as I said..you were tickl'd when the beggars cry'd, Heaven save your honour. 1706Farquhar Recruit. Officer iii. ii, Save ye, save ye, Gentlemen. 1888Lowell Heartsease & Rue 178, I have seen him some poor ancient thrashing Into something (God save us!) more dry.
b. esp. in God save the king! and the like.
c1290Beket 755 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 128 Sire king, he seide, god þe loke, and saui þi dignite! 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 811 Þus dindimus þe dere king enditeþ his sonde, & god bysecheþ to saue þe soueraine prinse. 1350–70in Eulogium Hist. (Rolls) III. 87 Regem [Henricum II] Theutonica lingua sic affatur: Godde saue the kyng. [In Giraldus (Rolls) VIII. 180 God houlde dhe, cuning.] 1535Coverdale 2 Sam. xvi. 16 He sayde vnto Absalom: God saue the kynge. 1540Palsgr. Acolastus ii. iii. M j b, Aue rex, or god saue your royall maiestie. 1558Procl. in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. ii. App. i. 389 God save the quene. a1627Sir J. Beaumont Bosw.-field (1629) 9 Some with loud shouting, make the valleyes ring, But most with murmur sigh: God saue the King.
†4. To spare instead of killing, allow to live, give (one) his life. Often coupled with slay. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 5549 Þis midwimmen..did noght als þe king þam badd, Bot sauued þai þar childer liues. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1917 So that the site was al at his wille, To sauyn hem hym leste or ellis spille. 1470Henry Wallace iv. 256 Wallace commaundede thai suld na wermen saiff. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 52 Whan he sauyth the lyf of them that he may slee. 1549Compl. Scot. xii. 100, I ordand ȝou to slay doune al the romans, and nocht to saif ane of them. 1588Lambarde Eiren. iv. xvi. 586 To saue or slay the Sparow that he holdeth closed in his hand. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 124 And therefore yet relent, and saue my life. 1642Laws of War Army Earl Essex 20 None shall save a man that hath his offensive Armes in his hands, upon paine of losing his prisoner.
absol.c1386Chaucer Prol. 663 For curs wol slee, right as assoillyng sauith. 1390Gower Conf. III. 207 Where him hapneth the victoire, His lust and al his moste gloire Was forto sle and noght to save.
5. To deliver from some evil which is likely to befall one; to protect from something which would be unwelcome or untoward; to ensure (one) immunity from some hurt or annoyance.
a1300Cursor M. 2985 Fra toche of hir i saued þe, þat þou suld not sin in me. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 23 Þat on Clothing is from Chele ow to saue. c1450Myrc Festial 293 Þonkyng hym þat sauid hym wyth hys blessing from poysynnyng. 1530Palsgr. 698/1, I save one from daunger, as harnesse doth ones persone, or as medecyne, or preservatyve dothe ones helth, je contregarde. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lv. 186 The good harneys saued Huon fro all hurtes. a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. (Sommer) 103 But Zelmanes comming saued Dorus from further chiding. 1827O. W. Roberts Voy. Centr. Amer. 226 He saved me from much interruption and many annoying questions. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xvi. 118 A sudden effort was necessary to save me from falling. 1886C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xviii. (ed. 3) 162 This route has the advantage, too, of saving one from the crowd.
b. used in invocation or aspiration: esp. with sarcastic emphasis.
1738Pope Univ. Prayer 33 Save me alike from foolish Pride, Or impious Discontent. 1784Cowper Task i. 499 But save me from the gaiety of those Whose head-aches nail them to a noon-day bed. 1798Canning New Morality 210 in Anti-Jacobin 9 July, Save, save, oh! save me from the candid friend!
c. To be a protection, defence, or means of deliverance to.
1412–20Lydg. Troy Bk. iii. 90 And some wil haue also no viser To saue his face, but only a naser. 1470Henry Wallace ii. 71 Couert of treis sawit him full weille. 1543Grafton Contn. Harding 489 A goodly glose, by the whiche that place that may defend a thefe, may not saue an innocent. 1771Junius Lett. lxvii. 333 But it shall not save you. The very sunshine you live in is a prelude to your dissolution.
6. refl. (in senses 1 and 5). Often = to get away, escape (F. se sauver).
a1225Ancr. R. 98 O none wise ne muwe ȝe betere sauuen ou suluen. c1320Sir Beues 836 Him com strokes so gret plente Þat fain he was to weren is hed And saue him self fro þe ded. c1450Myrc Festial 133 Wherfor, gentyll knyght, gos hens fast and saue þyselfe. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. ii. 48 Flye Lords, and saue your selues. a1715Burnet Own Time (1724) I. 585, I saved my self out of those difficulties by saying to all my friends, that I would not be involved in any such confidence. 1729W. Funnell Voy. 144 He and his company got to his boat, and so saved themselves to the ship. 1817Ballad of Waterloo 18 All panic struck, the legions fled, 'Twas save himself who could. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xl, The only course by which he could save himself from degradation and disgrace.
†b. refl. and intr. To avoid loss. Obs.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 139 b, So both parties, rather myndyng to gain or save then to lose, departed for that tyme. Ibid. 141 b, Thenglishemen sometyme saved, and sometyme gained, but the moste losse lighted on the Frenchemen. 1696Phillips (ed. 5) s.v., A Tradesman is said to save himself that neither gets nor loses.
7.
†a. To heal, cure, restore to health. Obs.
b. Later only as a specific use of sense 1: To rescue from a sickness which threatens to prove mortal; = to save the life of.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 17 Hou heore schabbede schep schal heore wolle saue. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 387 He was hard i-holde with a strong sikenesse, and myȝte nouȝt be i-heled noþer i-saved wiþ no manere medecyne. 1390Gower Conf. III. 32 Bot as a man that wolde him save, Whan he is sek, be medicine. a1400–50Alexander 2558 My-self with a serop sall saue [Dublin MS. safe] ȝow belyue. 14..Officium Resurrect. 7 in Non-Cycle Myst. Plays 3 Why suffred he so forto dy, Sithe he may all sekenes saue?
1615R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 63 Soe our chirurgion was sent for to assist the Duch chirurgion to save the [wounded] man, yf it were possible. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xli, Her own little boy was saved, actually saved, by calomel, freely administered, when all the physicians in Paris had given the dear child up.
8. To keep, protect or guard (a thing) from damage, loss, or destruction.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 429 And so þe strokes were i-lette, and þe walles i-saved. 1387Charters, etc. Edinb. (1871) 35 To cast the watir owte and to save the werc for the watir. c1450Myrc Festial 39 Hys hall was yche day of the ȝere new strawed..forto saue knyghtys cloþys þat setton on þe flore. 1553Wilson Rhet. (1585) 117 Fond is his purpose, that being in the Raine, casteth his garment in a bush, and standeth naked himself, for sauing the glosse of his gay coate. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 63 A Ferril of Brass may be put thereon to save the Head from cleaving. 1672Wiseman Wounds ii. 90 If the Toes with part of the foot was shot off, cut off the lacerated parts smooth, but with care to save as much of the foot with the heel as you can. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock ii. 93 To save the powder from too rude a gale. 1735― Donne Sat. ii. 72 His Office keeps your Parchment fates entire, He starves with cold to save them from the fire. 1907Hodges Elem. Photogr. 97 Over-exposed prints may possibly be saved by further diluting the developer.
†b. To guard (property) from loss or from passing into other hands; to keep in safe possession (for oneself or another). Obs.
1389in Eng. Gilds (1870) 81 Also, ye skyueyns of ye gylde yat hauen ye catel in hande, scholene fynden borwes to ye alderman, for to sauen ye catel, and for to bringe it forht at ye general morspeche, wyht-outen ani lettyng. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 272 When þy lord lokeþ to haue a-louaunce for hus bestes, And of þe monye þow haddist þer-myd hus meoble to saue. 1526Tindale 1 Tim. vi. 20 O Timothe save that which is geven the to kepe. 1533Bellenden Livy i. ii. (S.T.S.) I. 15 The realme of latynis and troianis was sauffit to þis childe Ascanius be prudent tutorie of lavinia his moder.
†c. To have (a person) in safe keeping. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Doctor's T. 200, I deeme anon this cherl his seruant haue; Thou shalt no lenger in thyn hous hir saue.
†d. To make (a place) secure. Obs.
1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 294 Þe toun he suld so saue, þat he suld not ascape.
e. to save one's pocket: to avoid spending one's money.
1883Law Times Rep. XLIX. 9/1 The tenant for life may have indirectly benefited himself or saved his own pocket.
f. to save one's face: to avoid being disgraced or humiliated. Similarly, to save (another's) face. Hence save-face adj. = face-saving ppl. adj. s.v. face n. 27, and absol. as n.[Originally used by the English community in China, with reference to the continual devices among the Chinese to avoid incurring or inflicting disgrace. The exact phrase appears not to occur in Chinese, but ‘to lose face’ (tiu lien), and ‘for the sake of his face’, are common.] 1898Westm. Gaz. 5 Apr. 5/1 Unquestionably the process of saving one's face leads to curious results in other countries than China. 1900Daily News 25 June 4/5 The communiqué in the Russian ‘Official Messenger’ provides the necessary formula by the adoption of which the Chinese Government can save its face. 1917Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 13/2 The civilian native staff had bolted at the first sign of trouble, ‘going to report to the authorities’ being their ‘save face’ for it! 1935Times 7 Oct. 9/4 The closing phase of the War—namely, a save-face, patched up peace. 1966R. Standish Widow Hack i. 8 A save-face formula to enable Janet to plead force majeure.
9. To keep intact or unhurt, preserve, maintain, safeguard (honour, credit, chastity, and the like).
a1300Cursor M. 11232 Right sua al plain,..he com and yede, Saufand his moder hir maidenhede. c1350Will. Palerne 527 My worschipe to saue. 1375Barbour Bruce ii. 338 Wyrk yhe then apon swylk wyss, That ȝour honour be sawyt ay. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 523 Til that myn harte..Graunted hym loue, vpon this condicioun, That eueremore myn honour and renoun Were saued. 1390Gower Conf. I. 19 Good is to save With penance and with abstinence Of chastite the continence. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 26 Thus will I saue my credit in the shoote. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 148 Who to save the reputation of the Virgin, confessed that he came to rob the house. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. ii. xi. (1848) 130 'Twould be much easier for the mistaken Physitian to save his Credit, than for the unprepar'd Sinner to save his Soul. 1733Pope Ep. Cobham 125 Must then at once (the character to save) The plain rough Hero turn a crafty Knave? 1851Lytton Not so Bad ii. i. 29 The loan saved my credit, and made my fortune.
b. To safeguard (a right, possession) to a person.
c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xiv. (1885) 144 Whether the kynge mey gyve such rewarde..off his revenues, savynge to hym selff sufficiant ffor the sustenance off his estate. 1499Reg. Privy Seal Scotl. I. 50/1 A precept of confirmation of the crownarschip of Carrik..Salffand to the kingis hienes service auch and wont. 1544tr. Littleton's Tenures 41 b, Yf a man let lande to another for terme of lyfe sauynge the reuersyon to him. 1571Act 13 Eliz. c. 29 §6 Savinge to all and every person or persons..all such Rightes..wch they..had, might or should have had, of, in or to any the Mannors Lordshippes [etc.]. 1642tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. x. §648. 279 The Lord doth grant the rent unto a stranger saving unto him his seignory. 1863H. Cox Instit. i. v. 23 We find a clause..introduced saving the king's rights.
†c. ? To keep, observe (a duty, rule). Obs.
1390Gower Conf. I. 85 Wherof I can noght bothe save My speche and this obedience. c1400Rule St. Benet (verse) 538 And all þai aw be day & night To saue þis rewle in all þer myght.
†d. To preserve the credit of (one's word, oath).
c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. xxix. 72 A man stode þer besyde & herd, & wold, hys thankes, saue [v.r. Sawe] þe prophetes sawe. 15952nd Pt. Contention (1843) 125 Ile shew your grace the waie to saue your oath.
e. to save the situation, to avert disaster.
1907W. Raleigh Shakespeare v. 135 If Cordelia had been perfectly tender and tactful, there would have been no play. The situation would have been saved. 1908A. Bennett Old Wives' Tale iv. ii. 467 Those dogs saved the situation, because they needed constant attention. 1922J. Williamson Short Hist. Brit. Expansionism v. iii. 514 Starvation more than once threatened annihilation, but on each occasion the timely arrival of food-ships saved the situation.
10. With adj. complement: To keep or preserve whole, unhurt, etc.
† to save harmless: see harmless a. 2.
a1300Cursor M. 5037 Lauerd..sauue mi childir hale to me. c1440Alphabet of Tales 223 Ane angell..opynd þe dure and savid þe seale hale at Saynt Remigius sett on itt. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xviii. 27 When the wycked man turneth awaye from his wickednesse..he shal saue his soule alyue. 1595Shakes. John ii. i. 225 To saue vnscratch'd your Citties threatned cheekes. 1611Bible 2 Kings vii. 4 If they saue vs aliue, we shall liue. 1784Cowper Task i. 566 Which, kindled with dry leaves, just saves unquench'd The spark of life. 1859Tennyson Enid 894 To Save her dear lord whole from any wound.
†11. To store, preserve, keep in sound condition.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxxvi. (Bodl. MS.), He [the heart] is holowȝ to fong blood, and he is þikke to saue it. 1601Holland Pliny II. 507 After that, it ought to be dried in the Sun, and saued in a brasen box. 1602Carew Cornwall (1723) 33 They [the Fish] are saued three maner of wayes: by fuming, pressing, or pickelling. 1728Pope Dunc. i. 151 There sav'd by spice, like mummies, many a year, Dry Bodies of Divinity appear.
b. intr. To remain in good condition, to last without spoiling, to ‘keep’. ? U.S.
1891Century Dict., Save..To be capable of preservation: said of fish: as, to save well.
12. trans.
a. Astr. to save the appearances, save the phenomena [tr. Gr. σῴζειν τὰ ϕαινόµενα (e.g. in Proclus Hypotyp. v. §10); cf. It. salvar le apparenze, F. sauver les apparences]: said of a hypothesis which satisfactorily explains the observed facts. See also salve v.2 1. Obs. exc. Hist. Hence (? orig. allusively)
b. to save appearances: to contrive to keep up an appearance of propriety, solvency, or the like. (So in Fr. and It.) Cf. appearance 12 b.
a.1625,1643[see phenomenon 1 c]. 1667Milton P.L. viii. 82 When they come to model Heav'n And calculate the Starrs, how they will weild The mightie frame, how build, unbuild, contrive To save appeerances. 1946A. Huxley Let. 3 Sept. (1969) 547 My primary preoccupation is the achievement of some kind of over-all understanding of the world, directly and, at one remove, through the building up of some hypothesis that accounts for the facts and ‘saves the appearances’. 1957O. Barfield (title) Saving the appearances. 1981Country Life 26 Feb. 528/3 His single professional aim is to perceive order in the physical world, not merely to save the appearances but to discover an ordered reality.
b.1711,1761[see appearance 12 b]. 1844Thirlwall Greece VIII. lxiii. 222 Sparta sent only a handful of men to save appearances. 1876‘Ouida’ Winter City viii. 234, I suppose it ‘saves society’, at least it saves appearances.
13. To prevent the loss of (a game, match, wager, etc.). Also, in Racing slang, to ‘hedge’ so as to protect (oneself, one's ‘book’) from loss, or so as to recover (a certain sum) out of one's losses.
1611Shakes. Cymb. ii. iv. 94 The description Of what is in her Chamber, nothing saues The wager you haue laid. 17..in Lillywhite Cricket Scores (1863) I. Pref. 10 If a striker nips a Ball up just before him he may fall before his Wicket, or pop down his Batt before Shee comes to it to Save it. 1837D. Walker Sports & Games 217 The striker..must never follow a ball so far that, in case of no runs being obtained, he cannot return to save his wicket. 1862Pycroft in London Soc. II. 114/1 As to his bowling, it might have saved the game. 1869‘Wat. Bradwood’ The O.V.H. xx, And even his lordship began to grudge that he had not just saved his book upon him [a horse] in consonance with the Major's advice. 1885New Bk. Sports 58 But in the Eton field..even in the sorest straits, by the feet, and by the feet alone, must the goal be saved.
†b. To make (a dangerous voyage) safely. Obs.
1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 77 This holds with little intermission till..the first Full Moon in August; when our Europe Ships, if they save their Passage about the Cape, venture to make in here.
14. ‘To take or embrace opportunely, so as not to lose’ (J.); to be in time for, manage to catch.
1732–3Swift Reas. Rep. Sacram. Test. Wks. 1751 IX. 245 The same Persons..were..faithful Subjects to Cromwell, yet being wise enough to foresee a Restoration, they seized the Forts and Castles here [in Ireland]..; just saving the Tide, and putting in a Stock of Merit sufficient to preserve [etc.]. 1802Canning in G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 456, I have but a moment to save the post. 1833I. Taylor Fanat. vi. 203 That they may save the hour of..appointment. 1849Thackeray 12 June in Scribner's Mag. I. 409/2 The note must go this instant to save the post. 1865Trollope Belton Est. vii. 73 There arises a question whether under such circumstances the train can be saved.
†b. to save one's distance, time: to manage to arrive at (a given point or time) after being delayed.
1790R. Cumberland Observer No. 142 §3 (1791) V. 184 Whether Nicolas saved his distance..we shall not just now enquire. 1806J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life vi. iv, Riding out to dinner, many miles off, on a beast that will not quit his walk, while you know that nothing short of a full gallop will save your time.
II. To reserve, lay aside.
15. To keep for a particular purpose or as likely to prove useful; to set apart, lay by, reserve.
c1400Rule of St. Benet (verse) 1582 Þat euer-ilkon wil of hir laue þe third part til hir sopper saue. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. v. 9 Good thou, saue mee a piece of Marchpane. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 136, I saved the Skins of all the Creatures that I kill'd. 1747H. Glasse Cookery (1796) xiv. 210 Take..a bunch of turnips, pare them, save three or four out, put the rest into the water. 1845Visit to Bury St. Edmunds 90, I have one pair [of shoes]; they were almost worn out when father died, and as mother can't buy any more, I save them for Sundays.
16. spec. To collect and keep (seed) in stock for sowing.
1657W. Coles Adam in Eden xxiii. 47 The Roots [of Clary]..perish after the Seed-time: it is most usuall to save it; for the Seed seldom riseth of its own shedding. 1763Mills Syst. Pract. Husb. IV. 128 The best way to save the seeds of this paint, is [etc.]. 1801Farmer's Mag. Jan. 92 It is feared the bulk of the people will not be able to save seed for next crop.
b. To dry (corn, hay, peat) by exposure to the air; to harvest, stack. Cf. win.
1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 120 When it [the corn] was growing and grown, I have observ'd already, how many Things I wanted, to Fence it, Secure it, Mow or Reap it, Cure and Carry it Home, Thrash, Part it from the Chaff, and Save it. 1764Museum Rust. I. lxxxiii. 361 The farmers pile them up in one of their offices, with an outside facing of bog turf well saved. 1824Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) II. 183 The Northumberland people have an idiom of ‘saving hay’ for ‘making hay’. 1892J. Barlow Irish Idylls i. 8 A turf-stack..when newly ‘saved’.. looks like a solidified shadow of the little house.
c. To extract (gold) from quartz.
1877Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 69 The gold is easily saved, being clean, angular, and not very small; hence the proportion saved by the mill-process is notably greater than in any other locality in California.
d. to save clean in Whaling (see quot.).
1891Century Dict. s.v., To save clean, to save all (the blubber) in cutting in: a whaling-term.
17. To store up or put by (money, goods, etc.) by dint of economy; to reserve instead of spending, consuming, or parting with.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 27 Treuþe..Bad hem Bugge Boldely what hem best lykede, And seþþen sullen hit a-ȝeyn And saue þe wynnynge. 14..How Good Wife taught Dau. 170 in Q. Eliz. Acad. 49 Þei..Þat wyll thryue, and þer gode saue. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iii. 39, I haue fiue hundred Crownes, The thriftie hire I saued vnder your Father. 1753Johnson Adventurer No. 84 ⁋14 A nobleman's butler, who has furnished a shop with the money he has saved. 1842Tennyson Dora 50 But Dora stored what little she could save, And sent it them by stealth. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vi. 95 He was able to save money for his son's education.
b. absol. Now used esp. with reference to or in exhortations concerning the purchase of savings certificates, etc., instead of consumer goods.
1595Lodge Fig for Momus H 1 b, Counsell, how to spend, and saue. 1776Adam Smith W.N. ii. iii. I. 410 Whatever industry might acquire, if parsimony did not save and store up, the capital would never be the greater. 1859Smiles Self-help ix. 234 Add guinea to guinea; scrape and save; and the pile of gold will gradually rise. 1878Jevons Pol. Econ. ix. 86 It is idle to say that the better-paid working men cannot save. 1916War Savings Oct. 12/2 A large number of circulars headed ‘Save for England’ have been distributed by the school children. Ibid. 13/1 Men and women are saving in Gloucestershire who never saved before because they have been taught that their 6d. per week..will help to end the War. Ibid. 16/1 Men are encouraged to save and help their country by joining the Association. 1942J. A. Schumpeter Capitalism, Socialism & Democracy xviii. 210 Nor am I going to ask the reader to rely on the individual comrades' propensity to save. 1948G. Crowther Outl. Money (ed. 2) v. 169 By every imaginable device of publicity people are exhorted to save. 1961E. S. Turner Phoney War xx. 292 This was merely an ingenious way of getting people to save. 1969Whitaker's Almanac 1970 353/1 The Chancellor..went on to introduce a contractual savings scheme—for which he said he was glad to appropriate (from the Conservatives) the title ‘Save As You Earn’. 1978Times 15 Mar. 21/8 The publication of Keynes' General Theory by its emphasis on the propensity to save (rather than the propensity to import) as the major cause of the insufficiency of demand, diverted attention from Harrod's approach.
c. with up. Also absol.
1834[see saved ppl. a. 2]. 1850Smedley Frank Fairlegh iv, A parting gift from my little sister Fanny, who..had saved up her pocket-money during many previous months, in order to provide funds for this munificent present. 1884Blackley Thrift & Indep. 20 To try the system of saving up a little week by week. Ibid. 57 If, by an effort, he save up..{pstlg}30. Ibid. 91, I set myself to save up for my own old age.
18. To avoid spending, giving, or consuming (money, goods, etc.); to keep (a given amount) from being spent or consumed or lost and so retain it in one's possession. Also with indirect obj. (with or without to): To enable a person to avoid spending, giving, or losing.
a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 545/345 Ki sauuer veut soun doner, Corteis seit de soun manger;..He may saue moneye and gete Þat wol be curteys of his mete. 1539in W. A. J. Archbold Somerset Rel. Houses (1892) 73 Ther will be a great soome of money that shalbe salved to the kinges highnes therbye. 1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 6 b, And so consequentlie in their whole Armies to saue the pay of a great sort of Captaines..and other Officers. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 48 Thou hast saued me a thousand Markes in Linkes and Torches. Ibid. v. i. 99, I..will, to saue the blood on either side, Try fortune with him, in a Single Fight. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 207 The said Ianizare..will easily save a man more then his wages. 1661Pepys Diary 20 Aug., When we came to look for our coach we found it gone, so we were fain to walk home afoot and saved our money. 1693in C. R. Wilson Old Fort William (1906) I. 12 That old Maxim..That a Penny saved is two Pence gott. 1712Swift Let. Eng. Tongue Wks. 1755 II. i. 197 You have already saved several millions to the publick. 1801Farmer's Mag. Nov. 406 By carrying this plan into execution, the public..would save not less than four millions per annum. 1854Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 257 With suitable flues, the saving of fuel is much greater when turf and wood are employed than is the case with coal;..1/3rd being saved in the case of wood, and 1/4th only in that of coal. 1860Trollope Framley P. xxxii, Mr. Sowerby then got into another cab... Anyone else would have saved his shilling, as Mrs. Harold Smith's house was only just across Oxford Street.
†b. absol. Of a commodity: To effect a saving in use, ‘to be cheap’ (J.).
a1626Bacon Compounding of Metals Baconiana (1679) 94 Brass Ordnance..saveth both in the quantity of the Material, and in the charge and commodity of mounting & carriage.
c. With immaterial obj., e.g. labour, time, distance to be travelled, etc.
1579W. Wilkinson Confut. Fam. Love B ij, Therefore saue labour for making any further reply hereunto, least you doe but lose your trauaile herein. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 8 He saues my labor by his owne approach. 1601― Twel. N. ii. ii. 6 You might haue saued mee my paines, to haue taken it away your selfe. 1612Bacon Ess., Despatch (Arb.) 248 To chuse time, is to saue time. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 3 Fair weather beginning with the New Moon, made the Captain repent that he had not passed through the Phare of Messina, which would have saved him fifty miles in his course. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest iv, Edith..baked all the oatmeal cakes, which saved Alice a good deal of time. 1889J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat 149 We had dispensed with tea, so as to save time.
d. to save one's breath or wind, to refrain from wasting one's argument or energy on a lost cause. (Perh. an ellipt. use of the proverbial phr. to keep (save, etc.) one's breath to cool one's porridge: see porridge n. 4.)
1926F. W. Crofts Inspector French & Cheyne Mystery xi. 146 If your story's going to be more lies about St John Price and the Hull succession you may save your breath. 1941Mencken in New Yorker 24 May 22/1 He might very well have saved his wind, for Bill soon had him. 1952E. Caldwell Lamp for Nightfall iv. 36 Now stop making me mad, talking about a new dress that you haven't any need of. Save your breath for something dearer. Ibid. x. 101 You'd better be saving your wind for road work, and for doing chores.
19. To be careful or economical in the use of; to use or consume sparingly.
1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 160 His youthfull hose well sau'd, a world too wide For his shrunke shanke. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 62 For I eat sparingly; and sav'd my Provisions (my Bread especially) as much as possibly I could. 1729Swift Direct. Serv., Butler Wks. 1751 XIV. 21 To avoid burning Day-light, and to save your Master's Candles. 1816Scott Old Mort. xl, Next she enlarged on the advantage of saving old clothes to be what she called ‘beet-masters to the new’. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre xxix, Everything..including the carpet and curtains—looked at once well worn and well saved.
20. To treat carefully, so as to obviate or reduce fatigue, wear and tear, etc. to save oneself, to reduce the amount of one's exertions.
[1756Chesterfield Let. to Son 14 Dec., Adieu! I am going to the ball, to save my eyes from reading, and my mind from thinking.] 1785G. A. Bellamy Apology (ed. 3) III. 82 To make use of the theatrical phrase, I never saved myself, but often suffered my feelings to possess me so entirely, as that they deprived me of the power of voice. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xviii, My eyes are getting weak, and I wish to save them as much as possible. 1856G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Cov. v. 52 White-Stockings, whom I had ridden down [to the races], to save Brilliant. 1859Geo. Eliot Lifted Veil ii, Supposing that he wished merely to save her nerves. 1907Symons-Jeune Art of Punting 17 Beginners..in order to save themselves and ease the strain on their arms..shove crooked and turn the punt round.
III. To avoid or prevent (something undesirable).
A development from sense 18; sense 21 arises naturally from the sense ‘to avoid paying or losing’. Cf. also sense 5.
21. To avoid for one's own part or enable another to avoid (some burden or inconvenience): occas. to avoid or obviate the necessity for. Const. indirect obj. of the person (oneself or another) who is relieved.
1606G. W[oodcocke] tr. Justin Epit. Emp. Hh 3 b, By meanes whereof, a little tract of time would saue him a great deal of wrath. 1615R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 75 And about midnight [he] departed towards Crates; which saved the geveing a present of 2 damaskt fowling peeces, yf he had staid till morninge. 1654Gayton Pleas. Notes iv. xvii. 259 How might'st thou by this effugium have sav'd all thy misfortunes? 1681Dryden Span. Friar iv. ii. 58 Will you not speak to save a Lady's Blush? 1699― Ep. J. Driden 11 Without their cost you terminate the cause And save the expense of long litigious laws. 1780Mirror No. 95 Take my advice, my dear Bell, and save yourself the trouble. 1790Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) I. vi. 168 My letters lie there for me, as it saves their being sent down to Rosebank. 1813Southey Nelson II. 135 The hurt done by their splinters would have been saved also. 1815Scott Guy M. xxiii, The best way's to let the blood barken upon the cut—that saves plasters. 1886Manch. Exam. 13 Mar. 5/2 The only use of paper money is in saving the wear and tear of gold. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 77 A tendency to take quick steps, as if running forward to save a fall.
†b. to save (a woman's) longing, to anticipate and so prevent it. Also transf. Obs.
1593King Leir i. ii. 133 (Malone Soc.), Madam, to saue your longing, this it is. 1607Shakes. Timon i. i. 261 Sir, you haue sau'd my longing, and I feed Most hungerly on your sight. 1614B. Jonson Barth. Fair iii. i. (1631) 48 Looke, Win, doe, looke a Gods name, and saue your longing. 1656Osborn Adv. Son ii. xvi. 54 Our Beldame Eve, to save her longing, sold us all for an Apple. 1665Head Eng. Rogue (1874) I. 88 Come hither Sirrah, I know what you would have, I'le save your longing.
c. Games. To prevent the opposing side from gaining (a run, goal, etc.). to save two, three, four runs (Cricket): to prevent the scoring of a second, third, or fourth run for a hit. Also (in football, hockey, etc.) absol. = to save a goal.
1816Lambert in Box Eng. Game Cricket (1877) 34 Long Stop.—This man should stand a proper distance behind the wicket, to save a run, if the ball should not be stopped by the striker, or wicket keeper. 1850‘Bat’ Cricket. Manual (1851) 49 Long Leg.. usually stands to save four runs. 1867Selkirk Guide to Cricket Ground 35 Saving the Run.—Stopping and returning the ball so quickly that the batsmen dare not attempt a run for fear of being run out. 1889Field 5 Jan. 29/3 For the losers, Jackson in goal saved well on several occasions [hockey]. Ibid. 12 Jan. 65/2 But his shot was saved by the goal-keeper [football].
d. well saved: an applauding expression used when a rider has avoided a fall; also (in games) when a brilliant ‘save’ has been made.
1859G. J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand I. i. 10 As he fell upon his head into the road, and recovered himself without unhorsing me,..‘Well saved, my lad, and devilish well ridden too’, said the jolly General.
†22. To afford protection from. Obs.
1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis Pref. 46 in Satir. Poems Reform. I. 348 The plesant plane-trie will the leavs unfauld With fairest schaddow to save the sone in symmer.
†23. To meet or overcome (a doubt); = salve v.2 2. Obs. rare.
1591Spenser M. Hubberd 194 Right well, deere Gossip, ye advized have, (Said then the Foxe) but I this doubt will save.
IV. Idiomatic uses of certain parts of the verb. (For those of the pr. pple. see saving prep.)
24. The infinitive to save has been used to mean:
†a. On condition of not injuring. Cf. sense 9.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1260 Ac ich wolde to sauui lif & lume bringe him to ech lawe. [Cf. ante 1242: þat he vor his neueu wolde..Do hey amendement, sauue lume & lif.]
†b. Saving, having regard to (one's honour, ‘presence’). See saving prep. 2.
1375Barbour Bruce iii. 173 ‘Schyr’, said he,..‘To sauff ȝour presence, it [is] nocht swa’. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 1008 And grant the frekis on fold farar to fall, Baith thair honouris to saif.
†c. Except, excepting; = save prep.
c1425Wyntoun Orig. Cron. iv. ix. 1170 Al þe cite þan fande þai Withe þar fais nere wptane, To sauff þe Capitalle allane. Ibid. iv. xvi. 1600 For nane þare gouernalle þar had, To sauff barnnys of ȝoutheide.
†25. The pa. pple. saved was used in absolute construction with a n., with the sense: Preserving..safe or intact, without detriment to, making reservation of. Cf. safe a. 5.
Sometimes placed before the n.: cf. except, considered.
c1400Apol. Loll. 52 And þus he may lefuly, sauid his ordre. 1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 79 That he wolde submitte hym to his grace, his honoure and crowne of his realme salvede. 1487Rolls of Parlt. VI. 390/2 Saved alwey to youre Grace..of the said Fee Ferme xviii li. v s. 1539in W. A. J. Archbold Somerset Rel. Houses (1892) 71 We haue determyned (your lordeshippes pleasure savyd) to differ the same vnto our return. 1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 335, I haue aunswered your custome, least you should argue me of coynes, no otherwise then I might mine honour saued, and your name vnknowen.
†V.
26. In combinations of verb-stem + object, used attrib. or adj., as save-soul, save-stake.
1654Whitlock Zootomia 178 Such A Spirit were of A Save stake, if not promoting Prudence, as they call it. 1799E. Du Bois Piece Family Biog. III. 129 Martha was gone on a save-soul pilgrimage to a neighbouring village.
Add:[I.] [8.] g. Computing. To preserve the contents of (the whole or part of main memory) by transferring a copy to non-volatile storage, usu. tape or disk, from which it can subsequently be retrieved when required. In later use freq. with adv. or advb. phr. denoting the location where the copy is to be stored.
1961Proc. National Symposium on Machine Translation (U.S.) 328 The information cell of the matching text form is saved. 1964Proc. AFIPS Conf. XXVI. 354/1 Since both data and subroutines change from day to day, a working procedure was developed which consists of writing a disk save tape(s) daily. These areas are the only disk areas saved. 1979Personal Computer World Nov. 49/1 To save programs they must first be moved out of the way of the DOS, control switched back to the 6502, 65DOS booted in and finally the program saved. 1984Acorn User Nov. 99/1 An interrupt-driven program saver that automatically saves a copy of the current program in memory..to disc every four minutes or so. 1987Desktop Publishing Today Nov. 33/1 You could take a sheet of Letraset, scan the complete alphabet, modify characters and then save it to the system as a font.
▪ IV. save, quasi-prep. and conj.|seɪv|
Forms: α. 3–5 sauf, 5–6 saufe, 5 sawf, sauff, saauf; 3–5 saf, 4–5 safe, saaf, 4–6 saff(e, 5 sef; 5–6 salf, 6 salfe, saulfe; 5–6 Sc. saif(f. β. 3–4 sauve, 4 sawve, 5 sawe, 4–6 salve, 4– save.
[Developed from safe a. 5, in imitation of the similar development in the use of the equivalent F. sauf.
Already in OF. the adj. sauf, fem. sauve, prefixed to a n. in the absolute construction (= L. salvō, salvā: see safe a. 5) had often the sense ‘being excepted’, so that it became (like the analogous except ppl. adj. in Eng.) functionally equivalent to a prep., and was eventually treated as such, the masc. form sauf being used even before a fem. n. Cf. Sp. salvo, Pr. sal.
The β forms may partly represent the OF. sauve in collocation with a fem. n., and partly the ME. form of the plural adj. But the later exclusive use of the form save is probably due to the identification of the word with the imperative of the vb.: cf. except, which appears to have been similarly apprehended as an imperative.
The use of a nominative after save (see 1 b) may perhaps be a trace of the originally adjectival character of the word; it is, however, to be noted that the same thing occurs with all the quasi-prepositional words of the same meaning, including even saving and excepting, which are in origin pr. pples. of transitive verbs.]
1. quasi-prep. Except, with the exception of, but. Often strengthened by the addition of only (alone, † alonely, † anerly, † one); also tautologically save and except, Sc. † bot saiff.
αa1300Cursor M. 17288 + 438 Alle to-geder þai whore sauf thomas of ynde allone. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1749 Heȝest of alle oþer, saf onelych tweyne. c1470Henry Wallace xi. 134 Sexte and vi xvi to ded has dycht, Bot saiff vii men at fled out of thair sycht. 1470–85Malory Arthur xx. vii. 808 Howe they were alle slayne sauf hym self al only. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) S v, Al thinges haue an ende at last by deth, saufe onely deathe. 1538Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 86 All the lightes of waxe in every church to be taken downe, saffe onely the roode-loft light. 1579in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 430 No kynd of..tymber..salfe onely fuell of wood for fyre.
βa1300Cursor M. 19485 Disciplis folud þai sa herd Þat þai þam draf vte o þair ward, Sauue þe apostels þat þam ledd. 13..Gosp. Nicod. 482 (Addit. MS.) Bedrede I lay ffourty ȝhere fully sawe two. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 210 Saue Meede þe Mayden no mon dorste abyde. c1380Wyclif Last Age of the Church (1840) 28 Euery lettre in þe abece may be souned wiþ opyn mouþ saue .m. lettre one. c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. vi. 18 Trew frendes fonde he non, sawe Robert, steuenes son. 1451Rolls of Parlt. V. 220/1 The last day save oon of august. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV 21 No Chronicler save one, maketh mencion what was the very cause. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 77 The aforesaid boats are..covered all save the ends with black cloth. 1749Fielding Tom Jones viii. xi, We spent the next evening, save one, in London. 1808G. Ellis Let. in Lockhart Scott (1837) II. iv. 143 The most pleasing poem in our language—save and except one or two of Dryden's fables. 1850Tennyson In Mem. cv. 23 No dance, no motion, save alone What lightens in the lucid east. 1878Stubbs Const. Hist. III. xviii. 140 All that remained to England in France, save Calais, was lost.
b. followed by the nominative of a pronoun. (App. the normal construction.)
αc1400Mandeville (1839) xxii. 245 Saf only thei that ben dwellynge with hym. a1450Knt. de la Tour 25 For ferde that ani other shulde haue the loue of her sauf he hym selff. c1500Three Kings' Sons 133 Then were they alle slayne, sauf y.
βc1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 802 Saue I and a frere, In Engelond ther kan no man it make. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas ix. xxi[i]. (1494) F vj, There is a lyue left none of the blode Saue I alone of the royall lyne. 1528Tindale Obed. Chr. Man 79 b, Wilt thou so teach..that no man shall have knowlege..in Gods worde save thou only? 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 66, I do intreat you, not a man depart, Saue I alone, till Antony haue spoke. Ibid. v. v. 69 All the Conspirators saue onely hee, Did that they did, in enuy of great Cæsar. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 814 That mortal dint, Save he who reigns above, none can resist. 1821Byron Juan iii. Isles of Greece xvi, Where nothing, save the waves and I, May hear our mutual murmurs sweep. 1866G. W. Dasent Gisli 5 No one has ever challenged me before this day, save thou.
c. followed by the accusative of the pronoun.
1382Wyclif Ecclus. xxxvi. 5 For ther is noon other God, saue thee, Lord. 1607Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 507 But all saue thee I fell with Curses. 1893F. Thompson Hound of Heaven 180 Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee, Save Me, save only Me?
†d. = but for. Obs.
1522More De quat. Noviss. Wks. 83/1 Spiritual pride..carieth with it a blindnes almost incurable saue gods gret mercye. 1820Keats Eve of St. Agnes xxv, She seem'd a splendid angel, newly drest, Save wings, for heaven.
2. conj. Introducing a sentence which states an exception; now only in the full form save that; = except C. 1.
αa1300Fall & Passion 23 in E.E.P. (1862) 13 God ȝaf him..foules bestis an þe frute saf o tre he him forbede. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 339 In his tyme þe monkes of Caunterbury..were nouȝt onliche to seculer men, sauf þat þey lefte nouȝt [liȝt]liche her chastite. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 36 Lych to the tothir, saf they be not garnysshed. 1501Douglas Pal. Hon. ii. vii, My curage grew, for quhat cause I nocht wait, Saif that I hald me payit of thair estait. a1533Ld. Berners Golden Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) M j, His face was lyke a man, saufe it hadde but one eye.
βc1350Will. Palerne 436 Min hert hol i haue now..saue a fers feintise folwes me oft. c1386Chaucer Frankl. T. 216 He was despeyred, no thyng dorste he seye, Saue in his songes somwhat wolde he wreye His wo. 1388Wyclif Mark vi. 5 And he myȝte not do there ony vertu, saue that he helide a fewe sijk men. 1547Test. Ebor (Surtees) VI. 265 Salve onlie that the said Thomas shall [etc.]. 1617Mure Misc. Poems xx. 6 My muse, qch noght doth challenge worthy fame, Saue from Montgomery sche hir birth doth clayme. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 187 Naked from the waste vpwards, saue that their heads are couered. 1750Gray Elegy 9 Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r The moping owl does to the moon complain. 1842R. I. Wilberforce Rutilius & Lucius 270 Then all was still, save that a vast gush of fire rose up for a moment. 1871R. Ellis Catullus xiv. 1 Calvus, save that as eyes thou art beloved, I could verily loathe thee for the morning's Gift.
¶ confused use.
1530Tindale Answ. More iii. Wks. (1573) 305/2 M. More..proueth nothing saue sheweth his ignoraunce.
b. = ‘But that’, ‘were it not that’. Cf. 1 d. ? Obs.
c1600Shakes. Sonn. lxvi. 14 From these would I be gone, Saue that to dye, I leaue my loue alone.
c. Introducing a hypothetical case of exception, = ‘unless’, ‘if..not’; cf. except C. 2.
1390Gower Conf. II. 119 And thus I mai you sothli telle, Save only that I crie and bidde, I am in Tristesce al amidde And fulfild of Desesperance. 1870Tennyson Holy Grail 80 Who wept and said, That save they could be pluck'd asunder, all My quest were but in vain. Ibid. 86 Save that he were the swine thou spakest of. 1897F. Thompson New Poems 186 'Tis said there were no thought of hell, Save hell were taught.
†d. As an adversative, = ‘but on the contrary’.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 77 Saue hit nis not bi þe Bisschop þat þe Boye precheþ. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. ii. v. 163 And if..þe herte be hurt, þere lijþ no cure þeron, saue he schal die anoon; for þe herte takiþ no lijf of no lyme of al þe bodi, saue þe herte ȝeueþ lyues to euery lyme of þe bodi. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 188 Kynde vs hath grantid two eighen and two eeris, Saue but one tonge.
3. Followed by an adv. or advb. phrase or clause, expressing the manner, time, etc., in regard to which an exception is to be made; = except C. 3.
αc1420Hoccleve Min. Poems 154/405 Womman, with my swerd, slee wolde I thee heere, Sauf for awe of god. c1450Merlin i. 12 Be-fill yowe neuer this merveyle saf ones? 1540–1Elyot Image Gov. (1549) 113 Beyng not instructed in any occupacion or science, saulfe onely in feates perteynyng to warre.
βc1320Sir Beues 2270 Al is pes þar ichaue went, Saue in þe lond of Dabilent. 1390Gower Conf. II. 172 And yit withoute experience Salve only of illusion. 1577Kendall Flowers of Epigr. 7 Thy garments all and some Do smell of Mirrhe, and saue of Mirrhe no sent doth from thee come. 1598H. B. Rdr. to Chaucer in Speght a v b, Unknowne to vs, saue only by thy bookes. 1611Bible 1 Kings xxii. 31 Fight neither with small nor great, saue only with the king of Israel. 1667Milton P.L. xii. 258 Over the Tent a Cloud Shall rest by Day, a fierie gleame by Night, Save when they journie. 1750Gray Elegy 7 Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight. 1864M. J. Higgins Ess. (1875) 165 Save and except in a dead calm she is utterly unseaworthy. 1875Manning Mission Holy Ghost xiv. 397 For fifty years he never left Rome, save only when he went out of the walls to visit the Seven Churches. 1879Froude Cæsar viii. 79 There was no longer, therefore, any excuse for its meeting, save on special occasions.
b. Followed by an inf. (with or without to).
c1400Beryn 660 He..had no thing to doon Saff shake a lite his eris, & trus, & be goon. c1450Myrc Festial 17 ‘What schall þat serues ben’. Þen sayde he: ‘þe same, worde for worde, þat ys yn hor natyuyte, saue turne þe natyvyte ynto þe concepcyon’. 1534Tindale John xiii. 10 He that is wesshed, nedeth not save to wesshe his fete. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xl, If thou hast aught to do, save to witness the misery thou hast caused.
c. save for: exception being made for, but for.
1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 303 Of all one paine, saue for a night of groanes Endur'd of her, for whom you bid like sorrow. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 282 Then was this Island (Saue for the Son, that [s]he did littour heere..) not honour'd with A humane shape. 1879Escott England xxv. (1881) 403 The well-conducted soldier, save and except for a more or less constant ennui..may pass his days in comparative comfort. 1879McCarthy Own Times II. 283 The Black Sea is, save for one little outlet.., a huge land-locked lake. 1894Hall Caine Manxman iv. xvi. 262 Saue for the slumbering fire, all was dark within the house.
¶4. Phrases like save your grace, save your reverence belong to safe a. 5. See also grace n. 6 d, reverence n. 5; and cf. saving.
‘Save your displeasure’ (quot. c 1500) is perh. due to a confusion between this use and sense 1 above.
13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 687 Sauue your grace, wene ich hit nowt, Hit euere com in his thout. c1500Three Kings' Sons 139 It semeth, sauf your displeasir, that [etc.].
▪ V. save
obs. form of safe, salve n.1 |