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rescue

 - 3 dictionary results

res⋅cue

  [res-kyoo] verb, -cued, -cu⋅ing, noun
Use rescue in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to free or deliver from confinement, violence, danger, or evil.
2. Law. to liberate or take by forcible or illegal means from lawful custody.
–noun
3. the act of rescuing.
Origin:
1300–50; (v.) ME rescuen < OF rescourre, equiv. to re- re- + escourre to shake, drive out, remove < L excutere (ex- ex- 1 + -cutere, comb. form of quatere to shake); (n.) ME, deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
res⋅cu⋅a⋅ble, adjective
res⋅cue⋅less, adjective
res⋅cu⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. liberate, release, save, redeem, ransom, extricate, recover. 3. liberation, deliverance, release, redemption, recovery.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rescue
res·cue   (rěs'kyōō)   
tr.v.   res·cued, res·cu·ing, res·cues

  1. To set free, as from danger or imprisonment; save. See Synonyms at save1.

  2. Law To take from legal custody by force.

n.  

  1. An act of rescuing; a deliverance.

  2. Law Removal from legal custody by force.


[Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescourre : re-, re- + escourre, to shake (from Latin excutere : ex-, ex- + quatere, to shake; see kwēt- in Indo-European roots).]
res'cu·a·ble adj., res'cu·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rescue 
c.1300 (n. and v.), from stem of O.Fr. rescourre, from re-, intensive prefix, + escourre "to cast off, discharge," from L. excutere "to shake off, drive away," from ex- "out" + -cutere, combining form of quatere "to shake" (see quash).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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