Talk:rescue
Add topicLatest comment: 11 years ago by Razorflame in topic Noun senses
Noun senses
[change]1. A rescue is a saving of someone or something.
2. A rescue is a freeing of someone or something.
Are these dissimilar enough to warrant having more than one entry? I would think we can merge them into one, i.e. "A rescue is a saving or freeing of someone or something." Tempodivalse [talk] 02:18, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
- I think you are probably right, so merge.--Peterdownunder (talk) 02:57, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
- They are different senses. A rescue is a saving of someone relates to that of a fireman or policeman saving someone from a burning building or from their abusive husband or wife.
- A rescue is a freeing of someone or something is freeing someone or something from imprisonment or from some other kind of physical restraint, such as restraints, rope, or something else of the such.
- Therefore, they should NOT be merged, as they are completely different senses. Razorflame 03:32, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
- Maybe it's a matter of "ear", but I honestly see only a negligible difference. A person trapped in a burning building is physically incapable of leaving and has to be freed from a difficult situation -- "rescued". The same could be said for, say, someone caught in a mantrap. I feel it's more nuanced than just the difference between "save" and "free". Those do have different meanings on their own, but when used to describe "rescue" the distinction becomes more blurred. Tempodivalse [talk] 08:24, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
- There are indeed certain distinctions between the two that make them very similar, but every dictionary that I check, both in print and on the Internet have them listed as separate senses, so I think that that alone makes it seem as though both are good senses to use. Razorflame 21:35, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
- Maybe it's a matter of "ear", but I honestly see only a negligible difference. A person trapped in a burning building is physically incapable of leaving and has to be freed from a difficult situation -- "rescued". The same could be said for, say, someone caught in a mantrap. I feel it's more nuanced than just the difference between "save" and "free". Those do have different meanings on their own, but when used to describe "rescue" the distinction becomes more blurred. Tempodivalse [talk] 08:24, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
- The English Wiktionary has two separate definitions, not that we need to follow them. Maybe check other dictionaries. πr2 (talk • changes) 19:04, 22 July 2013 (UTC)