Webster's English Dictionary

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rescue

res.cue \'res-(.)kyu:\ vt [ME rescuen, fr. MF rescourre, fr. OF, fr. re- + 
   escourre)X to shake out, fr. L excutere, fr. ex- + quatere to shake - more 
   at QUASH 1a: to free from confinement, danger, or evil : SAVE, DELIVERM 1b: 
   to take (as a prisoner) forcibly from legal custody  2a: to recover (as a 
   prize) by force  2b: to deliver (as a place besieged) by force of arms : 
   RESCUE implies freeing from imminent danger by prompt or vigorous action; 
   DELIVER implies release usu. of a person from confinement, temptation, 
   slavery, suffering; REDEEM implies releasing from bondage or penalties by 
   giving what is demanded or necessary; RANSOM specifically applies to buying 
   out of captivity; RECLAIM suggests a bringing back to a former state or 
   condition someone or something abandoned or debased; SAVE may replace any 
   of the foregoing terms; it may further imply a preserving or maintaining 
   for usefulness or continued existence - rescue n SYN syn DELIVER, REDEEM, 
   RANSOM, RECLAIM, SAVE