v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rescued p. pr. & vb. n. Rescuing. ] [ OE. rescopuen, OF. rescourre, rescurre, rescorre; L. pref. re- re- + excutere to shake or drive out; ex out + quatere to shake. See Qtash to crush, Rercussion. ] To free or deliver from any confinement, violence, danger, or evil; to liberate from actual restraint; to remove or withdraw from a state of exposure to evil; as, to rescue a prisoner from the enemy; to rescue seamen from destruction. [ 1913 Webster ]

Had I been seized by a hungry lion,
I would have been a breakfast to the best,
Rather than have false Proteus rescue me. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To retake; recapture; free; deliver; liberate; release; save. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Rescue, v.; cf. Rescous. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act of rescuing; deliverance from restraint, violence, or danger; liberation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Spur to the rescue of the noble Talbot. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) (a) The forcible retaking, or taking away, against law, of things lawfully distrained. (b) The forcible liberation of a person from an arrest or imprisonment. (c) The retaking by a party captured of a prize made by the enemy. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rescue of a prisoner from the court is punished with perpetual imprisonment and forfeiture of goods. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rescue grass. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] (Bot.) A tall grass (Ceratochloa unioloides) somewhat resembling chess, cultivated for hay and forage in the Southern States. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without rescue or release. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who rescues. [ 1913 Webster ]