salve

1
[ sav, sahv ]
See synonyms for salve on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a medicinal ointment for healing or relieving wounds and sores.

  2. anything that soothes, mollifies, or relieves.

verb (used with object),salved, salv·ing.
  1. to soothe with or as if with salve; assuage: to salve one's conscience.

Origin of salve

1
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

Other words for salve

Other definitions for salve (2 of 3)

salve2
[ salv ]

verb (used with or without object),salved, salv·ing.
  1. to save from loss or destruction; to salvage.

Origin of salve

2
First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from salvage

Other definitions for salve (3 of 3)

salve3
[ sal-vee; Latin sahl-wey ]

interjection

Origin of salve

3
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin salvē! literally, “be in good health!”; cf. salute

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use salve in a sentence

  • Ethridge salved his conscience by resolving secretly that they should all be published in the back of the book.

    Bizarre | Lawton Mackall
  • The case of "U-C 5" will be remembered, as she was salved and taken up the Thames to be shown to the public.

    The Story of Our Submarines | John Graham Bower
  • Frenzied, I turned; one stroke of my stiletto, and my wounded honour was salved—with gore.

  • With the wrecking of her love for her husband it had been salved and safely anchored elsewhere.

    The One-Way Trail | Ridgwell Cullum
  • Time being precious I salved my conscience about it as we drew up in Pervyse and decided to make tea.

    Fanny Goes to War | Pat Beauchamp

British Dictionary definitions for salve (1 of 2)

salve1

/ (sælv, sɑːv) /


noun
  1. an ointment for wounds, sores, etc

  2. anything that heals or soothes

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

  2. to soothe, comfort, or appease

Origin of salve

1
Old English sealf; related to Old High German salba, Greek elpos oil, Sanskrit sarpis lard

British Dictionary definitions for salve (2 of 2)

salve2

/ (sælv) /


verb
  1. a less common word for salvage

  2. an archaic word for save 1 (def. 3)

Origin of salve

2
C18: from salvage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012