sauver
See also: saûver
French
Etymology
From Middle French saulver, from Old French sauver, salver, from Gallo-Romance salvar, from Late Latin salvō (“to save”), from Latin salvus.
In the sense specific to North America, a semantic loan from English save.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /so.ve/
audio (file)
Verb
sauver
- to save, rescue; to protect
- (computing) to save
- Synonym: sauvegarder
- (takes a reflexive pronoun) to escape, run away
- (Quebec, Louisiana) to save (conserve, prevent the wasting of)
- Synonyms: économiser, préserver
- Ça réduit le gaspillage et sauve de l'argent. ― It reduces waste and saves money.
Conjugation
Conjugation of sauver (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | sauver | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | sauvant /so.vɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | sauvé /so.ve/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | sauve /sov/ | sauves /sov/ | sauve /sov/ | sauvons /so.vɔ̃/ | sauvez /so.ve/ | sauvent /sov/ |
| imperfect | sauvais /so.vɛ/ | sauvais /so.vɛ/ | sauvait /so.vɛ/ | sauvions /so.vjɔ̃/ | sauviez /so.vje/ | sauvaient /so.vɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | sauvai /so.ve/ | sauvas /so.va/ | sauva /so.va/ | sauvâmes /so.vam/ | sauvâtes /so.vat/ | sauvèrent /so.vɛʁ/ | |
| future | sauverai /so.vʁe/ | sauveras /so.vʁa/ | sauvera /so.vʁa/ | sauverons /so.vʁɔ̃/ | sauverez /so.vʁe/ | sauveront /so.vʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | sauverais /so.vʁɛ/ | sauverais /so.vʁɛ/ | sauverait /so.vʁɛ/ | sauverions /so.və.ʁjɔ̃/ | sauveriez /so.və.ʁje/ | sauveraient /so.vʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | sauve /sov/ | sauves /sov/ | sauve /sov/ | sauvions /so.vjɔ̃/ | sauviez /so.vje/ | sauvent /sov/ |
| imperfect2 | sauvasse /so.vas/ | sauvasses /so.vas/ | sauvât /so.va/ | sauvassions /so.va.sjɔ̃/ | sauvassiez /so.va.sje/ | sauvassent /so.vas/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | sauve /sov/ | — | sauvons /so.vɔ̃/ | sauvez /so.ve/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
- sauvable
- sauvegarder
- sauvé par la cloche
- sauvé par le gong
- sauve qui peut
- sauver la face
- sauver la mise
- sauver les apparences
- sauver les meubles
- sauver l'honneur
- sauver sa peau
- sauvetage
- sauveteur
- sauveur
Further reading
- “sauver”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- saveur
Hunsrik
Alternative forms
- sauwer
Etymology
From Old High German sūbar, from Latin sobrius.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsaʊ̯vɐ/
Adjective
sauver (comparative sauvrer, superlative sauvrest)
- clean
- Sin dein Henn sauver?
- Are your hands clean?
Declension
| Declension of sauver | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | ||
| Weak inflection | nominative | sauver | sauver | sauver | sauvre |
| accusative | sauvre | sauver | sauver | sauvre | |
| dative | sauvre | sauvre | sauvre | sauvre | |
| Strong inflection | nominative | sauvrer | sauvre | sauvres | sauvre |
| accusative | sauvre | sauvre | sauvres | sauvre | |
| dative | sauvrem | sauvrer | sauvrem | sauvre | |
Further reading
- Online Hunsrik Dictionary
Middle English
Noun
sauver
- Alternative form of saveour
Norman
Etymology
From Old French sauver, salver, from Gallo-Romance salvar, from Late Latin salvō, salvāre (“save”), from Latin salvus.
Verb
sauver
- (Jersey) to save
Old French
Alternative forms
- salvar (in the Oaths of Strasbourg)
- salver
Etymology
From Late Latin salvō, salvāre (“to save”), from Latin salvus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sau̯ˈveːr/
Verb
sauver
- to save (remove from danger)
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-v, *-vs, *-vt are modified to f, s, t. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Conjugation of sauver (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | sauver | avoir sauvé | |||||
| gerund | en sauvant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | sauvant | ||||||
| past participle | sauvé | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | sauf | sauves | sauve | sauvons | sauvez | sauvent |
| imperfect | sauvoie, sauveie, sauvoe, sauveve | sauvoies, sauveies, sauvoes, sauveves | sauvoit, sauveit, sauvot, sauveve | sauviiens, sauviens | sauviiez, sauviez | sauvoient, sauveient, sauvoent, sauvevent | |
| preterite | sauvai | sauvas | sauva | sauvames | sauvastes | sauverent | |
| future | sauverai | sauveras | sauvera | sauverons | sauveroiz, sauvereiz, sauverez | sauveront | |
| conditional | sauveroie, sauvereie | sauveroies, sauvereies | sauveroit, sauvereit | sauveriiens, sauveriens | sauveriiez, sauveriez | sauveroient, sauvereient | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses | present | sauf | saus | saut | sauvons | sauvez | sauvent |
| imperfect | sauvasse | sauvasses | sauvast | sauvissons, sauvissiens | sauvissoiz, sauvissez, sauvissiez | sauvassent | |
| compound tenses | past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | sauve | — | sauvons | sauvez | — | ||
Derived terms
- salvaige (whence English salvage)
Descendants
- Middle French: saulver
- French: sauver
- Norman: sauver (Jersey)
- → Middle English: saven, saave, salve, save, savi, savun, savye, savyn; salvin, sauven, sauvin, sawvin; safe, saffe, sauve, sayve; sovy
- English: save
- Scots: safe, sauf