English
rescue
Rescue comes from Old French rescoure, from Latin re- + excutiō ‘to shake out’, from quatiō ‘to shake’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquatiō1‘to shake’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcutiō1‘to shake or drive out’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400rescoure1‘to rescue’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rescouen1‘to rescue’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989rescue1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English rescue
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, Jeff MacInnis, Braving the Northwest Passage: “Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition was lost with two…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquatiōWiktionary, English rescue‘to shake’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcutiōWiktionary, English rescue‘to shake or drive out’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400rescoureWiktionary, English rescue‘to rescue’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rescouenWiktionary, English rescue‘to rescue’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989rescueWiktionary, English rescue. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, Jeff MacInnis, Braving the Northwest Passage: “Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition was lost with two…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *wre- ‘again’
require, reverse, rely, remark, reminiscent, reciprocal, revoke, repellent, reciprocate, refrigerate, repulse, rappel, regurgitate, 15 more
Today it means
verb To save from any violence, danger or evil.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “rescue”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin quatiō / rescue