salver
noun
Forms salvers
- noun One who salves or cures.
- noun One who pretends to cure; a quacksalver.
- noun One who salves or saves goods, etc. from destruction or loss.
- noun A tray used to display or serve food or other items (such as a visiting card).
Etymology
From Middle English salver (attested only in the sense of "ointment box"), from Old English *sealfere (“salver, one who anoints”), equivalent to salve + -er. Cognate with Dutch zalver (“salver”), German Salber (“salver”).
From salve (“to save”) + -er.
From Middle English salver (“serving platter”), from Spanish salva (“a testing of food or drink to test for poison”), from salvar (“to save, taste food for one's master”), from Latin salvō (“save”, verb). More at save.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who salves, or uses salve as a remedy; hence, a quacksalver, or quack. [Obs.]
- noun A salvor. Skeat.
- noun A tray or waiter on which anything is presented.
Etymology [Cf. Salvage.]
Etymology [Sp. salva pregustation, the tasting of viands before they are served, salver, fr. salvar to save, to taste, to prove the food or drink of nobles, from L. salvare to save. See Save.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “salver”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details