rescue

Etymology

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

verb

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. (figurative) To remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil and sin.
   Traditionally missionaries aim to rescue many ignorant heathen souls.
6. (figurative) To achieve something positive under difficult conditions.
   Jews rescued some normalcy from increasingly difficult times by assuaging their constant Angst in the family and community and making do with less. 1999, Marion A. Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair, Oxford University Press
   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. September 13, 2011, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC
   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. 2013, Daniel Harris, The Promised Land: Manchester United's Historic Treble, Birlinn

noun

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.