Safe

Safe, sāf, adj. unharmed: free from danger or injury: secure: securing from danger or injury: no longer dangerous: clear: trusty: sound: certain.—n. a chest or closet for money, &c., safe against fire, thieves, &c., generally of iron: a chest or cupboard for meats: (coll.) a safety-bicycle.—v.t. to safeguard.—v.t. Safe′-conduct′ (Spens.).—ns. Safe′-con′duct, a writing, passport, or guard granted to a person to enable him to travel with safety; Safe′-depos′it, a safe storage for valuables; Safe′guard, he who, or that which, guards or renders safe: protection: a guard, passport, or warrant to protect a traveller: a rail-guard at railway switches: (zool.) a monitor lizard.—v.t. to protect.—n. Safe′-keep′ing, preservation from injury or from escape.—adv. Safe′ly, in a safe manner.—ns. Safe′ness; Safe′-pledge, a surety for one's appearance at a day assigned; Safe′ty, freedom from danger or loss: close custody: a safeguard: Safe′ty-arch (archit.), an arch built in the body of a wall to relieve the pressure, as over a door or window; Safe′ty-belt, a belt made of some buoyant material, or capable of being inflated, for helping a person to float; Safe′ty-bī′cycle, a low-wheeled bicycle; Safe′ty-buoy, a buoy for helping a person to float: a life-preserver; Safe′ty-cage (mining), a cage by which a fall would be prevented in case of the breakage of the rope by means of safety-catches; Safe′ty-chain, a check-chain of a car-truck: a safety-link; Safe′ty-fuse, a waterproof woven tube enclosing an inflammable substance which burns at a regular rate; Safe′ty-hoist, a hoisting-gear so arranged as to prevent its load being thrown precipitately down in case of accident; Safe′ty-lamp, a lamp surrounded by wire-gauze, used for safety in mines on account of the inflammable gases; Safe′ty-lock, a lock that cannot be picked by ordinary means: in firearms, a lock with some device for preventing accidental discharge; Safe′ty-match, a match which can be ignited only on a surface specially prepared for the purpose; Safe′ty-pā′per, a paper so prepared as to resist alteration by chemical or mechanical means; Safe′ty-pin, a pin in the form of a clasp with a guard covering its point; Safe′ty-plug, a plug of soft metal in an opening in a steam-boiler, so as to melt when the temperature rises to its fusing-point, and allow of an escape of steam; Safe′ty-rein, a rein for preventing a horse from running away; Safe′ty-stop, a contrivance for preventing accidents in machinery; Safe′ty-tube, a tube used in chemical operations to prevent the bursting of vessels by gas, and for other purposes; Safe′ty-valve, a valve in the top of a steam-boiler, which lets out the steam when the pressure is too great for safety. [O. Fr. sauf—L. salvus; prob. allied to solus.]