Savour and Savoury Are the Same Word Split in Two
To savour is to enjoy something slowly. The related savoury now means the opposite of sweet.
To savour is to taste something with pleasure, or to enjoy an experience slowly. Latin *sapor* meant taste, and English kept it in two directions: *savour* stayed about enjoyment, while *savoury* narrowed to mean salty or spicy rather than sweet — a purely culinary category with no obvious logic beyond habit. Something can be tasty without being savoury. The same *sapere*, to taste, gives *sapient*, wise, because knowing and tasting were once the same metaphor.
- To enjoy slowly. *Savour the moment.*
- A taste or smell. *A rich savour.*
- Savoury — not sweet. *A savoury dish.*
- Unsavoury — distasteful. *An unsavoury business.*
- Latin — *sapor*, taste. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (UK) | savour | Savour it. |
| Verb (US) | savor | Savor it. |
| Adjective | savoury | Savoury. |
| Negative | unsavoury | Unsavoury. |
| Latin | sapere | To taste. |
- Savour every mouthful.Eating.
- She savoured the victory.Figurative.
- A savoury tart, not a sweet one.Category.
The sapere family
- Savour — to taste with pleasure
- Savoury — of the salty rather than sweet kind
- Sapient — wise, from the same taste metaphor
- Homo sapiens — the wise, or tasting, human
- Insipid — without taste, hence dull
Old French *savour*, from Latin *sapor*, taste or flavour, from *sapere*, to taste or to be wise.
Why does sapient mean wise?
Because Latin sapere meant both to taste and to discern, and knowing was described as a kind of tasting.
Savour or savor?
Savour is British, savor American, following the same pattern as colour and flavour.