Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Salve

Salve , interjection

[Latin, hail, God save you, imperat. of salvere to be well. Compare Salvo a volley.]

Hail!

Salve (? o?) , transitive verb

To say “Salve” to; to greet; to salute. [Obsolete]
By this that stranger knight in presence came, And goodly salved them. — Spenser

Salve (?; 277) , noun

[Anglo-Saxon sealf ointment; akin to LG. salwe, Dutch zalve, zalf, Old High German salba, Danish salve, Swedish salfva, Gothic salbōn to anoint, and probably to Greek (Hesychius) {not transcribed} oil, {not transcribed} butter, Sanskrit sarpis clarified butter. r155, 291.]

1.
An adhesive composition or substance to be applied to wounds or sores; a healing ointment. — Chaucer
2.
A soothing remedy or antidote.
Counsel or consolation we may bring. Salve to thy sores. — Milton
Collocations (1)
Salve bug (Zoology) , a large, stout isopod crustacean (Aega psora), parasitic on the halibut and codfish, -- used by fishermen in the preparation of a salve. It becomes about two inches in length.

Salve , transitive verb

[Anglo-Saxon sealfian to anoint. See Salve, n.]

1.
To heal by applications or medicaments; to cure by remedial treatment; to apply salve to; as, to salve a wound. — Shakespeare
2.
To heal; to remedy; to cure; to make good; to soothe, as with an ointment, especially by some device, trick, or quibble; to gloss over.
But Ebranck salved both their infamies With noble deeds. — Spenser
What may we do, then, to salve this seeming inconsistence? — Milton

Salve , verb, transitive and intransitive

[See Salvage]

To save, as a ship or goods, from the perils of the sea. [Recent]