Make Your Point: SALVE

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pronounce SALVE:

SAV.

Or, if you prefer: SALV.

Both pronunciations are recognized by dictionaries.

Hear it.

connect this word to others:

As a kid, I knew someone who put petroleum jelly on everything. I'd laugh, thinking it was super weird.

Now, I'm the weirdo who puts it on everything. I mean, it's a gloss for the lips, a godsend for the cuticles, and the most comforting protection ever for a windburn or a papercut. Obligatory note: I'm not a healthcare professional, just a hearty appreciator of petroleum jelly, the nicest, cleanest, shiniest, cheapest goop over.

Which brings us to our word salve, meaning a nice, soothing goop. A close synonym is em___ient. Can you recall that one? It's from Latin roots meaning "(something to) thoroughly soften." Like a salve, a literal em___ient is applied to the skin; a figurative one is applied to people's anger.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Salve" comes from Old English and means "a soothing goop that you put onto sores and wounds."

It can still mean that today. It can also meaning "anything that soothes people when they're upset."

And, like many nouns do, this one has morphed into a useful verb. You can salve people, or salve things, meaning you soothe them.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Both a noun and a verb: "It's a salve to my guilty conscience;" "It salves my guilty conscience."

Other forms:

salves, salved, salving

how to use it:

"Salve" is a formal, sophisticated, semi-common word. It helps you compare something soothing to a medicated goop, or a healing ointment. That is, it suggests that something is like a smooth, oily, goopy, soothing, healing paste being smeared onto a pain point, bringing comfort and relief.

Talk about people, actions, words, and things that salve someone, or that salve someone's pain, ego, pride, feelings, conscience, etc. Or, say that one thing is a salve to another: "His heartfelt apology was a salve to our injured feelings."

examples:

"The universal quality [of a Universal Basic Income] means it is a salve applied to everybody, not just those burned by economic inequality."
— Jathan Sadowski, The Guardian, 22 June 2016

"He... intentionally coded back doors and security holes into a system he designed, so that he could later sell them on the black market. It allowed him to get paid for the same job twice, and to salve any guilt he felt about working for a demonic multinational corporation."
— Ernest Cline, Ready Player One, 2011

has this page helped you understand "salve"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "salve" without saying "balm" or "calm."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Something) worked as a salve, taking the sting out of (something painful)."

Example: "The foggy night worked as a salve, taking the sting out of words."
— Sandhya Menon, When Dimple Met Rishi, 2017

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "The Words are Hard, the Titles are Silly, and the Points Don't Matter!"

In each issue, try matching a given term to a silly title. For example, match the term “desultory” to the video game title “If It Moves, Shoot It!” because desultory methods are random, disorganized, and unmethodical.

If you need a definition for a term, give it a click. Scroll all the way down to see my suggested matches. Give yourself a point for each match you make that matches my match! And give yourself two points for any match that mismatches mine, as long as you can make up some reason for your match, no matter how half-baked.

Try these today:

Terms:
A. jeu d'esprit
B. panoply
C. sine qua non

Titles (okay, names) of restaurants:
1. Like No Udder: Non-Dairy Soft Serve
2. Lox, Stock & Bagel
3. Tequila Mockingbird

review this word:

1. Opposites of SALVE include

A. TWINE, WRING, and ZIGZAG.
B. SHIELD, DEFEND, and SAFEGUARD.
C. INFLAME, AGGRAVATE, and IRRITATE.

2. In the game Shovel Knight, presumably, your character can _____ the accessory "Suave Salve" to "become more attractive to get better deals at shops."

A. haul up
B. chisel out
C. slather on

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SALVE

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