safe

English Online Dictionary. What means safe‎? What does safe mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English sauf, safe, saf, saaf, from Old French sauf, saulf, salf (“safe”), from Latin salvus (“whole, safe”), from Proto-Italic *salwos, from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“whole, every”). Displaced native Old English sicor (secure, sure).

Pronunciation

• enPR: sāf, IPA^(key): /seɪf/
• Rhymes: -eɪf
• Hyphenation: safe

Adjective

safe (comparative safer or more safe, superlative safest or most safe)

1. Not in danger; out of harm's reach.

2. Free from risk.

   Synonyms: riskless, harmless

   Antonyms: harmful, dangerous
3. Providing protection from danger; providing shelter.

4. (baseball) When a batter successfully reaches first base, or when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base or returns to the base he last occupied; not out.

5. (snooker, of an object ball) In a location that renders it difficult to pot.
6. Properly secured.

   Synonym: secure

   Hyponyms: binary-safe, fail-safe, thread-safe, type-safe

7. (used after a noun, often forming a compound) Not susceptible to a specified source of harm.

8. (UK, slang) Great, cool, awesome, respectable; a term of approbation, often as interjection.

   Synonyms: wicked, cool; see also Thesaurus:awesome
9. (UK, law, of a conviction) Supported by evidence and unlikely to be overturned. Usually used in the negative, as unsafe.

10. (slang) Lenient, usually describing a teacher that is easy-going.

    Synonyms: easy-going, merciful, tolerant, lenient

    Antonyms: strict, harsh, intolerant

11. Reliable; trusty.

    Synonym: trustworthy

12. Cautious.
13. (programming) Of a programming language, type-safe or more generally offering well-defined behavior despite programming errors.

Antonyms

• unsafe

Descendants

• → Japanese: セーフ

Translations

Noun

safe (plural safes)

1. A box, usually made of metal, in which valuables can be locked for safekeeping.
2. (slang) A condom.
3. (dated) A ventilated or refrigerated chest or closet for securing provisions from noxious animals or insects.
4. (dated, colloquial) A safety bicycle.

Synonyms

• (box for storing valuables): coffer, lockbox, strongbox
• (condom): see also Thesaurus:condom.

Hyponyms

• failsafe

Descendants

• → German: Safe
• → Russian: сейф (sejf)
  • → Kazakh: сейф (seif)
  • → Bulgarian: сейф (sejf)

Translations

Verb

safe (third-person singular simple present safes, present participle safing, simple past and past participle safed)

1. (transitive) To make something safe.

Derived terms

See also

• save
• safety

References

• safe on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• “safe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “safe”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “safe”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• EAFs, faes, EFSA, FAEs, EFAs

German

Etymology

English safe, originally borrowed in the context of safe sex (safer Sex, 1980s), later generalized.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛɪ̯f/, /seːf/, /zeːf/
• (with the grammatical ending -e) IPA^(key): /sɛɪ̯fə/

Adjective

safe (strong nominative masculine singular safer, comparative safer, superlative am safesten)

1. safe

   Synonym: sicher

Declension

Adverb

safe

1. (youth slang) definitely, absolutely, sure

   Synonyms: sicher, auf jeden Fall

   "Willst du 'nen Film gucken?" -"Safe!" ― "Wanna watch a movie?" -"Sure!"

   Ich werde es safe vergessen. ― I'll definitely forget it.

Related terms

• Safe

Further reading

• “safe”, in Online-Wortschatz-Informationssystem Deutsch (in German), Mannheim: Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, 2008–

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sáː.fé/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [sáː.ɸé]

Adverb

sāfe

1. in the morning

Middle English

Etymology 1

Adjective

safe

1. alternative form of sauf

Preposition

safe

1. alternative form of sauf

Conjunction

safe

1. alternative form of sauf

Etymology 2

Verb

safe

1. (Northern) alternative form of saven

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -afi, (Portugal) -afɨ
• Hyphenation: sa‧fe

Verb

safe

1. inflection of safar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

Noun

safe n (plural safeuri)

1. alternative form of seif

Declension