Word
salve
/ˈsɑv/
Definition
n. a thick, oily substance used to heal wounds or soothe pain. In the past, it was also used to describe a way to fix a problem or make a situation better.
n. a medicinal preparation of an oily or greasy consistency, applied to the skin to heal wounds or relieve pain. Historically, it also served as a metaphor for a remedy or solution to a problem.
Examples
“The doctor applied a thick salve to the burn.”
“After the long hike, he rubbed a healing salve into his blistered feet to reduce the swelling.”
“The poet described the night sky as a salve for his weary soul, providing a sense of peace that the noisy city streets could never offer.”
Examples
simple
“The doctor applied a thick salve to the burn.”
contextual
“After the long hike, he rubbed a healing salve into his blistered feet to reduce the swelling.”
complex
“The poet described the night sky as a salve for his weary soul, providing a sense of peace that the noisy city streets could never offer.”
Real-World Examples
“These young men salve the emptiness with a few quiet words and touches.” “It would salve so many worries for people who don’t want to be a burden on their children and to know that they can at least pass on some inheritance.” Etymology
From Middle English salve, from Old English sealf, from Proto-West Germanic salbu, from Proto-Germanic salbō, from Proto-Indo-European solp-éh₂, from selp- (“salve, ointment”). Cognates Cognate with Middle Low German salve (Danish salve, Dutch zalf), Old High German salba (German Salbe), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍉𐌽𐍃 (salbōns), Albanian gjalpë (“butter”), Sanskrit सर्पिस् (sarpís), Ancient Greek ἔλπος (élpos).
From Old English sealfian, from Proto-West Germanic salbōn, from Proto-Germanic salbōną, from *salbō (whence salve (noun)).
From Latin salvō (“to save”).
From Latin salvē. The verb is from the interjection.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
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englishreference.com/q/salve