Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Rescue \Res"cue\ (r?s"k?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Rescued}
   (-k?d);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.

         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.

   Syn: To retake; recapture; free; deliver; liberate; release;
        save.

Rescue \Res"cue\ (r?s"k?), n. [From {Rescue}, v.; cf.
   {Rescous}.]
   1. The act of rescuing; deliverance from restraint, violence,
      or danger; liberation.

            Spur to the rescue of the noble Talbot. --Shak.

   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.

                The rescue of a prisoner from the court is
                punished with perpetual imprisonment and
                forfeiture of goods.              --Blackstone.

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

Source : WordNet®

rescue
     v 1: free from harm or evil [syn: {deliver}]
     2: take forcibly from legal custody; "rescue prisoners"

rescue
     n : recovery or preservation from loss or danger; "work is the
         deliverance of mankind"; "a surgeon's job is the saving
         of lives" [syn: {deliverance}, {delivery}, {saving}]