The Safety Pin Sold for Four Hundred Dollars
Safety is freedom from harm. Walter Hunt invented the safety pin in a single afternoon in 1849 and sold the patent outright.
Safety is the state of being protected from danger. The most famous object carrying the word was designed to settle a debt: in 1849 Walter Hunt twisted a piece of wire for a few hours, patented the safety pin, and sold the rights for four hundred dollars to clear what he owed a friend. The buyer's company made a fortune from it.
- Freedom from harm. *Passenger safety comes first.*
- A device that prevents harm. *The safety on a rifle.*
- In American football — a two-point score for the defence. *They scored a safety.*
- Safe — the adjective behind it. *The road is safe.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | safety | Fire safety. |
| Adjective | safe | A safe route. |
| Comparative | safer | Safer than driving. |
| Adverb | safely | She arrived safely. |
| Compound | safety net | A financial safety net. |
- Check the safety before you load it.A mechanism.
- The safety of the crew was never in doubt.Abstract state.
- There is safety in numbers.Proverb.
Safety compounds worth knowing
- Safety net — literal in a circus, financial in politics
- Safety valve — releases pressure before something bursts, in machines and in tempers
- Fail-safe — designed so that a failure leaves things harmless
- Safety in numbers — the belief that a crowd is less exposed
- Safety razor — the blade guard that made shaving ordinary
From Old French *sauvete*, from Latin *salvus*, unharmed — the same root as *save*, *salvage* and *salvation*. The abstract noun has been in English since the 1300s.
What is a safety in American football?
Two points awarded to the defending team when the attacking team is tackled behind its own goal line. The word also names a defensive position.
Who invented the safety pin?
Walter Hunt, in New York in 1849. He sold the patent almost immediately and made very little from it.