Where does “safekeeping” come from?
Safekeeping derives from English safe and English keep, with safe coming from Middle English sauf, from Latin salvus meaning "unharmed or whole."
safekeeping (English): the act of keeping something safe; protection...
Definitions
- the act of keeping something safe; protection...
Ancestry of “safekeeping”, step by step
safekeeping traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English keeping
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | keeping | conformity or harmony; charge or care;... |
| 2 | English | keep | To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain |
| 3 | Middle English | kepen | to keep, guard, look after, watch |
| 4 | Old English | cēpan | to seize, hold, observe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *kōpijan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kōpijaną | to look after, observe; to watch, keep, care for |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵab- | — |
via English safe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | safe | Not in danger; out of harm's reach; Free from... |
| 2 | Middle English | sauf | Not having experienced harm, damage, or ill... |
| 3 | Old French | sauf | — |
| 4 | Latin | salvus | safe, saved, preserved, sound, unharmed,... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *salawos | whole |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | solh₂wós | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sōlh₂- | mercy, comfort; comfort, mercy |