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savor

[sey-ver]
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noun
  1. the quality in a substance that affects the sense of taste or of smell.
  2. a particular taste or smell.
  3. distinctive quality or property.
  4. power to excite or interest.
  5. Archaic. repute.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to have savor, taste, or odor.
  2. to exhibit the peculiar characteristics; smack (often followed by of): His business practices savor of greed.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to give a savor to; season; flavor.
  2. to perceive by taste or smell, especially with relish: to savor the garden's odors.
  3. to give oneself to the enjoyment of: to savor the best in life.
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Also especially British, sa·vour.

Origin of savor

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English sav(o)ur < Old French savour < Latin sapōrem, accusative of sapor taste, derivative of sapere to taste (cf. sapient); (v.) Middle English sav(o)uren < Old French savourer < Late Latin sapōrāre, derivative of sapor
Related formssa·vor·er, nounsa·vor·ing·ly, adverbsa·vor·less, adjectivesa·vor·ous, adjectiveout·sa·vor, verb (used with object)un·sa·vored, adjective
Can be confusedsavior savor savory

Synonyms

See more synonyms for savor on Thesaurus.com
1. relish, smack; odor, scent, fragrance. See taste.

Usage note

See -or1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for savour

Historical Examples

  • Heaven forbid that their conduct, in one particular, should savour of injustice.

    Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327

    Various

  • In fact, such a deed might savour of jealousy and covetousness.

  • Thus, earnest resolution has often seemed to have about it almost a savour of omnipotence.

    Self-Help

    Samuel Smiles

  • He smiled cruelly, his own anxieties forgotten in the savour of vengeance.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • It has the tang of the soil as well as the savour of the blood.

    The Balladists

    John Geddie

British Dictionary definitions for savour

savour

US savor

noun
  1. the quality in a substance that is perceived by the sense of taste or smell
  2. a specific taste or smellthe savour of lime
  3. a slight but distinctive quality or trace
  4. the power to excite interestthe savour of wit has been lost
  5. archaic reputation
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verb
  1. (intr often foll by of) to possess the taste or smell (of)
  2. (intr often foll by of) to have a suggestion (of)
  3. (tr) to give a taste to; season
  4. (tr) to taste or smell, esp appreciatively
  5. (tr) to relish or enjoy
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Derived Formssavourless or US savorless, adjectivesavorous, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French savour, from Latin sapor taste, from sapere to taste
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for savour

chiefly British English spelling of savor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Savoured; savouring.

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savor

n.

mid-13c., from Old French savor "flavor, taste; sauce, seasoning; delight, pleasure," from Latin saporem (nominative sapor) "taste, flavor," related to sapere "to have a flavor" (see sapient).

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savor

v.

c.1300, from Old French savorer "taste, breathe in; appreciate, care for," from Late Latin saporare, from Latin sapor (see savor (n.)). Related: Savored; savoring.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper