salvage

Etymology 1

From Old French salver (see also save, from a variant form), from Late Latin salvare (“to make safe, secure, save”), from Latin salvus (“safe”) with the English suffix -age.

noun

1. The rescue of a ship, its crew and passengers or its cargo from a hazardous situation.
2. The ship, crew or cargo so rescued.
3. The compensation paid to the rescuers.
4. The money from the sale of rescued goods.
5. The similar rescue of property liable to loss; the property so rescued.
   … the debris was hurled down the hillside on to the line and swept the engine off the track and into the sea; the engine in question, ex-Cambrian 0-6-0 No. 874, was not considered to be worth salvage, and was abandoned. 1943 March and April, “A British Avalanche Shelter”, in Railway Magazine, page 80
6. (sometimes attributive) Anything put to good use that would otherwise have been wasted, such as damaged goods.
   salvage cars auction

verb

1. (transitive, of property, people or situations at risk) to rescue.
   Robin van Persie looked to have secured the points for the Gunners with a fine goal from Theo Walcott's through ball. But Perisic dipped a sublime 20-yard shot home to salvage a draw. September 13, 2011, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal”, in BBC
2. (transitive, of discarded goods) to put to use.
   During the war, but unrecorded because of the requirements of censorship, a link with the now partly-abandoned Cardiff Railway disappeared with the demolition of Rhydyfelin Viaduct, near Treforest, South Wales, in the latter part of 1942. The steelwork in this structure, amounting to nearly 1,150 tons, was salvaged as scrap metal to assist the war effort. 1946 January and February, “Notes and News: Demolition of Rhydyfelin Viaduct”, in Railway Magazine, page 52
3. (transitive) To make new or restore for the use of being saved.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

noun

1. Obsolete spelling of savage.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Spanish salvaje, from Catalan salvatge, from Late Latin *salvāticus, alteration of Latin silvāticus (“wild”, literally “of the woods”). Confused false friends; English salvage and Tagalog salbahe (“mischievous, naughty”).

noun

1. (Philippines) Summary execution, extrajudicial killing.

verb

1. (Philippines) To perform summary execution.
2. (Philippines) To apprehend and execute (a suspected criminal) without trial.