saving (prep., conj.)
"except for; but for; minus," also "with due respect or consideration for" (one's honor, etc.), late 14c.; see save (prep.).
saving (n.)
early 14c., "salvation;" late 14c., "act of protecting (someone) from danger or death," verbal noun from save (v.).
By 1550s as "economy in expenditure or outlay; a reduction or lessening in expenditure." Savings "sums saved over time by the exercise of care and economy" is by 1727. Savings bank , for encouraging thrift "among people of slender means" [Century Dictionary] is by 1817; savings account is attested by 1882. S & L for savings and loan is attested from 1951.
saving (adj.)
c. 1300, "delivering from sin or death;" 1530s, "delivering or preserving from peril;" present-participle adjective from save (v.). The notion in saving grace is "spiritual gifts necessary to salvation;" the non-Christian sense (by 1903) is moral or mental, indicating something that redeems or exempts from censure.
Dictionary entries near saving
save
saved
saveloy
saver
Saville Row
saving
savings
savior
saviour
savoir-faire
Savonarola