Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Safety \Safe"ty\, n. [Cf. F. sauvet['e].]
   1. The condition or state of being safe; freedom from danger
      or hazard; exemption from hurt, injury, or loss.

            Up led by thee, Into the heaven I have presumed, An
            earthly guest . . . With like safety guided down,
            Return me to my native element.       --Milton.

   2. Freedom from whatever exposes one to danger or from
      liability to cause danger or harm; safeness; hence, the
      quality of making safe or secure, or of giving confidence,
      justifying trust, insuring against harm or loss, etc.

            Would there were any safety in thy sex, That I might
            put a thousand sorrows off, And credit thy
            repentance!                           --Beau. & Fl.

   3. Preservation from escape; close custody.

            Imprison him, . . . Deliver him to safety; and
            return.                               --Shak.

   4. (Football) Same as Safety touchdown, below.

   {Safety arch} (Arch.), a discharging arch. See under
      {Discharge}, v. t.

   {Safety belt}, a belt made of some buoyant material, or which
      is capable of being inflated, so as to enable a person to
      float in water; a life preserver.

   {Safety buoy}, a buoy to enable a person to float in water; a
      safety belt.

   {Safety cage} (Mach.), a cage for an elevator or mine lift,
      having appliances to prevent it from dropping if the
      lifting rope should break.

   {Safety lamp}. (Mining) See under {Lamp}.

   {Safety match}, a match which can be ignited only on a
      surface specially prepared for the purpose.

   {Safety pin}, a pin made in the form of a clasp, with a guard
      covering its point so that it will not prick the wearer.
      

   {Safety plug}. See {Fusible plug}, under {Fusible}.

   {Safety switch}. See {Switch}.

   {Safety touchdown} (Football), the act or result of a
      player's touching to the ground behind his own goal line a
      ball which received its last impulse from a man on his own
      side; -- distinguished from touchback. See {Touchdown}.

Switch \Switch\, n. [Cf. OD. swick a scourage, a whip. Cf.
   {Swink}, {Swing}.]
   1. A small, flexible twig or rod.

            Mauritania, on the fifth medal, leads a horse with
            something like a thread; in her other hand she holds
            a switch.                             --Addison.

   2. (Railways) A movable part of a rail; or of opposite rails,
      for transferring cars from one track to another.

   3. A separate mass or trees of hair, or of some substance (at
      jute) made to resemble hair, worn on the head by women.

   4. (Elec.) A mechanical device for shifting an electric
      current to another circuit.

   {Safety switch} (Railways), a form of switch contrived to
      prevent or lessen the danger of derailment of trains.

   {Switch back} (Railways), an arrangement of tracks whereby
      elevations otherwise insurmountable are passed. The track
      ascends by a series of zigzags, the engine running
      alternately forward and back, until the summit is reached.
      

   {Switch board} (Elec.), a collection of switches in one piece
      of apparatus, so arranged that a number of circuits may be
      connected or combined in any desired manner.