Etymograph

English

safety

Safety comes from Middle English savete, from Old French sauveté, earlier salvetet, from Medieval Latin salvitās, from Latin salvus ‘safe’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-1‘whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*salawos1‘whole’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalvus2‘safe’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salvitās2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400salvetet2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sauveté2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500savete2‘safety’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596safety2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin salvus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English safety
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “[…] imprison him, […] / Deliver him to safety;…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-Wiktionary, Latin salvus‘whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*salawosWiktionary, Latin salvus‘whole’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalvusWiktionary, English safety‘safe’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salvitāsWiktionary, English safety
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400salvetetWiktionary, English safety
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sauvetéWiktionary, English safety
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saveteWiktionary, English safety‘safety’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596safetyWiktionary, English safety. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “safety”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin salvus. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- / safety

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