Other forms: rescued, rescues, rescuing
To rescue is to save somebody from danger. Rescue the crew, a rescue attempt, mountain rescue.
It means removing somebody from immediate danger, which is why rescue services are organised around speed. In Britain mountain rescue is run almost entirely by volunteers. A rescue dog or cat is one rehomed from a shelter, and rescue is used as a noun for the organisation too. Note rescuer; and that the Latin behind it means to shake out.
1verbrescueTo save somebody from danger.
“Firefighters rescued a family of five from the burning building.”
2nounanimalAn animal rehomed from a shelter.
“Our dog is a rescue, and she was very shy when she first came to us.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
Old French rescoure comes from Latin re- plus excutere, to shake out — ex plus quatere, to shake. Discuss, percussion and quash come from the same shaking.
Old French
rescoure
Middle English
rescouen
English, today
rescue
Built from
From Middle English rescouen, from Old French rescoure, rescurre, rescorre; from Latin - prefix re- (“re-”) + excutiō (“to shake or drive out”), from ex (“out”) + quatiō (“to shake”). Displaced native Old English nerian.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA