salute
Definitions
General English
- noun a movement which expresses respect or recognition, especially the movement of putting your right hand up to touch the side of your forehead
- verb to give a salute to someone
Military
- noun a military greeting made between officers and other ranks, which is carried out by raising the right hand to the peak of the cap
- noun (written as SALUTE)a word used to help soldiers remember the important things to note when observing a situation (Size, activity, location, unit, Time, equipment)
- verb to carry out a salute
- acronym forSize, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment (written as SALUTE)
Origin & History of “salute”
Salute goes back ultimately to the Latin noun salūs, a relative of salvus ‘safe, healthy’ (source of English safe and save). This had two main strands of meaning. The primary one was ‘health, well-being’, and in that sense it lies behind English salubrious (16th c.) and salutary (15th c.). But by extension it also denoted a ‘wish for someone’s well-being’, hence a ‘greeting’, and it is this that has given English, via its derived verb salūtāre ‘greet’, salute.
