rescue

See also: Rescue

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English rescouen, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin prefix re- (“re-”) + excutere, present active infinitive of excutiō (“I shake or drive out”), from ex (“out”) + quatiō (“I shake”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

(transitive)

1. To save from any violence, danger or evil.

   The well-trained team rescued everyone after the avalanche.

2. To free or liberate from confinement or other physical restraint.

   to rescue a prisoner from the enemy.

3. To recover forcibly.
4. To deliver by arms, notably from a siege.
5. (figuratively) To remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil and sin.

   Traditionally missionaries aim to rescue many ignorant heathen souls.

6. (figuratively) To achieve something positive under difficult conditions.
   • 1999, Marion A. Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair, Oxford University Press →ISBN

     Jews rescued some normalcy from increasingly difficult times by assuaging their constant Angst in the family and community and making do with less.

   • 2011 September 13, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     Arsenal's hopes of starting their Champions League campaign with an away win were dashed when substitute Ivan Perisic's superb late volley rescued a point for Borussia Dortmund.

   • 2013, Daniel Harris, The Promised Land: Manchester United's Historic Treble, Birlinn →ISBN

     Over the course of the season, on 15 occasions the team had rescued a draw or better after falling behind, such that even against Juventus, there was an air of inevitability about the comeback.

Synonyms

• (to save from violence, danger or evil): free, deliver, pull out of the fire, save the day
• (to free from confinement): liberate, release
• (to free from restraint): release, unshackle, untie
• (to recover forcibly): recapture, retake
• (to deliver by arms): liberate
• (to rescue from evil or sin): redeem, save

Antonyms

• (all senses): abandon, ignore
• (to save from violence, danger or evil): endanger, imperil
• (to free from confinement): enslave, incarcerate
• (to free from restraint): bind, constrict, hamper, inhibit, obstruct, preclude
• (to recover forcibly): kidnap
• (to deliver by arms): arrest, capture
• (to rescue from evil or sin): corrupt, deprave

Derived terms

• rescuee
• rescuer

Related terms

• quash

Translations

to save from any danger or violence

• Arabic: أَنْقَذَ (ʔanqaḏa), خَلَّصَ (ḵallaṣa)
• Armenian: փրկել (hy) (pʻrkel)
• Asturian: rescatar
• Catalan: salvar (ca), rescatar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 拯救 (zh) (zhěngjiù), 救援 (zh) (jiùyuán), 營救／营救 (zh) (yíngjiù), 营救 (zh) (yíngjiù), 救助 (zh) (jiùzhù)

• Czech: zachránit (cs)
• Dutch: bevrijden (nl), redden (nl), verlossen (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: pelastaa (fi)
• French: délivrer (fr), secourir (fr), sauver (fr)
• Galician: rescatar
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: retten (de)
• Greek: σώζω (el) (sózo), διασώζω (el) (diasózo)
• Hungarian: megment (hu)
• Italian: salvataggio (it) m, salvara, salvare (it)
• Japanese: 救う (ja) (sukuu), 助ける (ja) (tasukeru), 救い出す (sukuidasu), 救助する (kyūjo-suru)
• Khmer: សង្គ្រោះ (km) (sɑŋkrʊəh)
• Latin: ademptio (la) f, redemptura, redemptiō, asseravatio f, extractiō, subventiō, adimō (la), redimō, asservo, extrahō, subveniō, ēripiō
• Macedonian: спасува (spasuva)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Manchu: ᠠᡳᡨᡠᠪᡠᠮᠪᡳ (aitubumbi)
• Maori: rauora, whakarauora
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Ngazidja Comorian: uhuyi
• Persian: نجات دادن (fa) (nejât dâdan)
• Polish: ratować (pl)
• Portuguese: resgatar (pt), salvar (pt)
• Russian: спаса́ть (ru) impf (spasátʹ), спасти́ (ru) pf (spastí); выруча́ть (ru) impf (vyručátʹ), вы́ручить (ru) pf (výručitʹ)
• Spanish: rescatar (es)
• Swahili: okoa (sw)
• Swedish: rädda (sv), undsätta (sv)
• Thai: ช่วยเหลือ (th) (chûai-lʉ̌ʉa), กู้ภัย (gûu-pai)
• Tibetan: ཉེན་ག་ནས་བཏོན (nyen ga nas bton)
• Ukrainian: рятува́ти (rjatuváty)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Walloon: schaper (wa)
• Welsh: achub (cy)
• Yiddish: ראַטעווען (rateven), מציל זײַן (matsl zayn)
• Yámana: tama-lāgöna

to free, liberate from physical restraint

• Armenian: ազատել (hy) (azatel)
• Dutch: bevrijden (nl), verlossen (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: vapauttaa (fi)
• Russian: освобожда́ть (ru) impf (osvoboždátʹ), освободи́ть (ru) pf (osvobodítʹ)

to recover forcibly

• Dutch: loswrikken, ontfutselen (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to deliver by arms, notably from a siege

• Dutch: ontzetten (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to remove from exposure to evil/sin

• Dutch: redden (nl)
• Finnish: pelastaa (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: спаса́ть (ru) impf (spasátʹ), спасти́ (ru) pf (spastí); выруча́ть (ru) impf (vyručátʹ), вы́ручить (ru) pf (výručitʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} délivrer (fr), ^{(please verify)} sauver (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) Hebrew: חילוץ (ħi'lutz)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} salvare (it)
• (deprecated template usage) Korean: 구출하다 (guchulhada)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} rescatar (es)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} rädda (sv)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} కాపాడు (te) (kāpāḍu) (kaapaaDu), ^{(please verify)} రక్షించు (te) (rakṣiñcu) (rakshinchu)

Noun

rescue (countable and uncountable, plural rescues)

1. An act or episode of rescuing, saving.
2. A liberation, freeing.
3. The forcible ending of a siege; liberation from similar military peril

   The rescue of Jerusalem was the original motive of the Crusaders

4. A special airliner flight to bring home passengers who are stranded
5. A rescuee.

   The dog was a rescue with some behavior issues.

Usage notes

• Often used attributively as an adjective, e.g. "rescue equipment".

Derived terms

• come to someone's rescue
• rescue dog
• rescue mission

Translations

act of rescuing, saving

• Armenian: փրկում (hy) (pʻrkum)
• Asturian: rescate m
• Belarusian: ратава́нне n (ratavánnje), рату́нак m (ratúnak)
• Catalan: rescat (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 援救 (zh) (yuánjiù), 營救／营救 (zh) (yíngjiù), 营救 (zh) (yíngjiù, yíngjiu), 救出 (zh) (jiùchū)

• Dutch: redding (nl)
• Finnish: pelastus (fi), pelastaminen (fi)
• French: sauvetage (fr) m, secours (fr) m, rescousse (fr)
• Galician: rescate m
• German: Rettung (de) f
• Greek: διάσωση (el) f (diásosi)
• Italian: salvataggio (it)
• Japanese: 救出 (きゅうしゅつ, kyūshutsu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: ademptio (la), redemptura, redemptio, asservatio, extractio, subventio
• Manchu: ᠠᡳᡨᡠᠪᡠᠨ (aitubun)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: berging m or f

  Nynorsk: berging f

• Polish: ratunek (pl)
• Portuguese: resgate (pt) m
• Russian: спасе́ние (ru) n (spasénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: saoradh m
• Spanish: rescate (es) m
• Swedish: räddning (sv) c, undsättning c
• Tagalog: pagliligtas
• Ukrainian: поряту́нок m (porjatúnok)

liberation — see liberation

forcible ending of a siege

• Dutch: ontzetting (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

special airliner flight

• Finnish: pelastuslento
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

rescuee — see rescuee

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} חילוץ (ħi'lutz) (1), ^{(please verify)} רכב חילוץ (re'khev ħi'lutz) (2)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 救援 (zh) (jiùyuán), ^{(please verify)} 营救 (zh) (yíngjiù) (1), ^{(please verify)} 救护 (zh) (jiùhù) (2)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} రక్షణ (te) (rakṣaṇa)

References

“rescue”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Creuse, cereus, ceruse, cursee, recuse, secuer, secure