Salve Meaning
/sɑːv/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAn ointment, cream, or balm with soothing, healing, or calming effects.
nounAny remedy or action that soothes or heals.
Sentence Examples
This salve will act as a protective film over the burn.
The best brand of lip salve, in my opinion, is Burt's Bees.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She applied the soothing ____ to her sunburned skin to reduce pain.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She applied a soothing ____ to the burn to reduce the pain and prevent infection.
Word Origin & History
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).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[Title:] Tame March PCE inflation no salve after downbeat Q1 US GDP report"
— 2025 April 30, “Tame March PCE inflation no salve after downbeat Q1 US GDP report”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 01 May 2025:
"She feels guilty for pampering him, and salves her conscience by bossily ordering him to go and fetch the clothes from the line[.]"
— 1985, Joan Morrison, Share House Blues, Boolarong Publications, page 26:
"I do beseech your majesty […] salve the long-grown wounds of my intemperance.""
— c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
"But Ebranck salved both their infamies / With noble deedes."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 21:
"What may we do, then, to salve this seeming inconsistence?"
— 1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She applied the soothing ____ to her sunburned skin to reduce pain.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She applied a soothing ____ to the burn to reduce the pain and prevent infection.