Sāve1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. SAVED; p. pr. & vb. n. SAVING.] [O. Fr. sauver, saluer, N. Fr. sauver, Pr., Sp., & Pg. salvar, It. & Lat. salvare, from Lat. salvus, saved, safe.]
Sense 1. To make safe; to procure the safety of; to preserve from injury, destruction, or evil of any kind; to rescue from danger; as, to save a house from the flames.
He cried, saying, Lord, save me. Matt. xiv. 30.
Thou hast . . . quitted all to save A world from utter loss. Milton.
Sense 2. To keep from being spent or lost; to secure from waste or expenditure; to lay up; to reserve.
Now save a nation, and now save a great. Pope.
Sense 3. To rescue from, as from something undesirable or hurtful; to insure against; to spare.
I’ll save you that trouble, sir. Shak.
Sense 4. To hinder from occurrence; to obviate; to prevent.
Will you not speak to save a lady’s blush? Dryden.
Sense 5. To keep one’s self from losing; to catch; to be in time for. “Just saving the tide, and putting in a stock of merit.” Swift.
To save appearances, to preserve a decent outside; to avoid exposure of any thing disgraceful or embarrassing.
Synonyms—To preserve; rescue; deliver; protect; spare; reserve; prevent.