salvage

v. to kill or assassinate. Subjects: English, Philippines, Crime & Prisons

Editorial Note: This meaning appears to be specific to the Philippines.

2 Comments | Cites | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Citations: 1983 Globe and Mail (Toronto, Can.) (Sept. 22) “Church leads way as Filipinos urge political reforms” p. P17: According to the task force report, 1,082 Filipinos were “extra-legally executed or salvaged (a euphemism for assassinations)” between 1975 and 1983. During the same period, 266 others “disappeared.” 2003 Manila Standard (Philippines) (Sept. 9) “Use Arnold in a Sentence”: One has to admire the way Panfilo Lacson has evolved as a public figure. The development of his vocabulary adequately reflects this. Ping is quoted as saying it would be “ridiculous for me to execute my own witness.” The three syllable word execute shows a marked improvement over that two syllable Pinoy colloquialism, “salvage.” Four syllable words assassinate, exterminate and annihilate cannot be that far behind. 2004 Patricio P. Diaz Minda News (Mindanao, Philippines) (July 13) “On Regrettables”: During martial law, “salvage” came into use in the Philippines to mean “to execute or dispose of a person summarily and secretly.” Filipino journalists use it that way without regret. I wonder if it will ever be entered into reputable English dictionaries.

Posted 14 Jul 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

As used in the Philippines, the verb “salvage” and the noun “salvaging” are the slang equivalents of the terms “to execute extrajudicially, to assassinate” and “extrajudicial execution,” terms used by human-rights organizations such as Amnesty International. It began as an anglicization or Englishing of the Tagalog word “salbahe,” whose meaning ranges from mischievous or abusive (adj.) and a notoriously abusive person (noun). “Salbahe,” in turn, is derived from the Spanish word “salvaje,” wild, undomesticated, savage.

by Jose F. Lacaba 22 Feb 06, 0538 GMT

Oops. I should have written “...ranges from mischievous to abusive…”

by Jose F. Lacaba 22 Feb 06, 0542 GMT