The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Rescue \Res"cue\ (r[e^]s"k[-u]), n. [From Rescue, v.; cf.
   Rescous.]
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   1. The act of rescuing; deliverance from restraint, violence,
      or danger; liberation.
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            Spur to the rescue of the noble Talbot. --Shak.
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   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.
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                The rescue of a prisoner from the court is
                punished with perpetual imprisonment and
                forfeiture of goods.              --Blackstone.
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   Rescue grass. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Bot.) A tall grass
      (Ceratochloa unioloides) somewhat resembling chess,
      cultivated for hay and forage in the Southern States.
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