English
safety
Safety comes from Middle English savete, from Old French sauveté, earlier salvetet, from Medieval Latin salvitās, from Latin salvus ‘safe’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-‘whole’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*salawos‘whole’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalvus‘safe’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salvitās
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400salvetet
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400sauveté
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500savete‘safety’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596safety
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-‘whole’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*salawos‘whole’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalvus‘safe’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salvitās
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400salvetet
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400sauveté
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500savete‘safety’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596safety
Earliest quotation: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “[…] imprison him, […] / Deliver him to safety;…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- ‘whole’
sold, solid, holocaust, sol, salute, xu, sou, salutation, salutary, salubrious, 30 more
through Latin salvus ‘safe, saved, preserved, sound, unharmed,…’
save, salvation, sage, safely, salvage, savior, salvo, salve, salvia, 7 more
Today it means
noun The condition or feeling of being safe; security; certainty.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- / safety