Salus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A classical term often denoting health, well-being, or safety in Latin culture
2. signifies the concept of welfare and protection in various contexts
3. also represents the idea of salvation or deliverance in classical and religious texts

Etymology: Salus was the Roman goddess of safety, health and general well-being, and her name is the Latin noun "salus", meaning health, safety or welfare. That noun is the same root behind English "salutary" and "salubrious", and it is related to "salve" and "salvation" through the same Indo-European base for being whole or sound. Her cult is old, with a temple on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, but the goddess herself is attested mainly in Roman religion rather than in early myth, so there are few stories about her. Her name was used in the formula "salus populi suprema lex" ("the welfare of the people is the supreme law"), attributed to Cicero, which shows how the abstract idea of welfare was treated almost as a divinity.

Synonyms: health, welfare, safety, well-being, security

Antonyms: danger, risk, peril, harm, injury