Salve

Pronunciation

• UK enPR: sălv, IPA: /sælv/, /sɑːv/
• US enPR: sălv, IPA: /sælv/, /sæv/

From Old English sealf, from Proto-Germanic *salbō. Akin to Middle Low German salve (Danish salve), Old High German salba (German Salbe), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍉𐌽𐍃 and to Albanian gjalpë ("butter").

Full definition of salve

Noun

1. An ointment, cream, or balm with soothing, healing, or calming effects.
2. Any thing or action that soothes or heals.

Derived terms

• black salve

Verb

1. (transitive) To calm or assuage.
2. To heal by applications or medicaments; to apply salve to.
• Shakespeare The First Part of King Henry IV:I do beseech your majesty . . . salve the long-grown wounds of my intemperance."
3. To heal; to remedy; to cure; to make good.
• SpenserBut Ebranck salved both their infamies
  With noble deeds.
• MiltonWhat may we do, then, to salve this seeming inconsistence?
4. To salvage.

From Latin salvare ("to save")

Verb

1. (obsolete, astronomy) To save (the appearances or the phenomena); to explain (a celestial phenomenon); to account for (the apparent motions of the celestial bodies).
2. (obsolete) to resolve (a difficulty); to refute (an objection); to harmonize (an apparent contradiction).
• 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two World SystemsHe which should hold it more rational to make the whole Universe move, and thereby to salve the Earths mobility, is more unreasonable....
3. (obsolete) To explain away; to mitigate; to excuse

Latin

Interjection

1. hail; a greeting

Verb

1. (transitive) To say "salve" to; to greet; to salute.
• SpenserBy this that stranger knight in presence came,
  And goodly salved them.

Anagrams

• avels, selva, Slavé, slave, vales