salve

¹ American  

[sav, sahv] / sæv, sɑv /

noun

1. a medicinal ointment for healing or relieving wounds and sores.

2. anything that soothes, mollifies, or relieves.

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verb (used with object)

salved, salving

1. to soothe with or as if with salve; assuage.

   to salve one's conscience.

   Synonyms:

   mollify, alleviate, ease

salve ² American  

[salv] / sælv /

verb (used with or without object)

salved, salving

1. to save from loss or destruction; to salvage.

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salve ³ American  

[sal-vee, sahl-wey] / ˈsæl vi, ˈsɑl weɪ /

interjection

1. hail!

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salve ¹ British  

/ sælv, sɑːv /

noun

1. an ointment for wounds, sores, etc

2. anything that heals or soothes

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verb

1. to apply salve to (a wound, sore, etc)

2. to soothe, comfort, or appease

salve ² British  

/ sælv /

verb

1. a less common word for salvage

2. an archaic word for save 1

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Etymology

Origin of salve¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun salve, salwe, salf(e), Old English sealf, salf; cognate with German Salbe “ointment, salve,” Sanskrit sarpís “melted butter, fat”; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of salve²

First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from salvage

Origin of salve³

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin salvē! literally, “be in good health!”; cf. salute

Explanation

A salve is something that soothes. You can use an ointment as a salve for an itchy rash, or maybe your kind words can act as a salve to comfort a heartsick friend. In some parts of the world, people pronounce salve the way it's spelled, but in the U.S. the correct pronunciation has a silent L. You can use this word for things that make people feel better — not just ointment: "A hot cup of tea is a salve for me." And you can also use it as a verb: "The nurse will salve your wounds now." Salve comes from a Proto-Indo-European root that means "fat" or "butter."

Example Sentences

Eight of Chesney’s assistant coaches at James Madison have spent multiple years working with him, some of the connections going back to Chesney’s days at Salve Regina in Division III.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2025

“Nobody wanted us to win,” said Salve Regina coach Eric Cirella.

From Seattle Times • May 31, 2024

Foremost among these studies is one produced by the Nationhood Lab at Salve Regina University's Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, and first reported on in Politico.

From Salon • May 1, 2023

As the slogan on the back of Santos’s T-shirt put it: “Plante árvores. Salve vidas”: “Plant trees. Save lives.”

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2022

She opened the top bureau drawer and examined the bottles which constituted the medicine chest of the house— paregoric, Pain Killer, Lydia Pinkham, iron wine tonic, Hall’s Cream Salve, Epsom salts, castor oil, ammonia.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• alleviate
• assuage
• mollify
• pacify
• unburden