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savior

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Etymology and origin of the English word savior

Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Old French sauveour via Middle English
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin salvus
French sauf
Italian salvo
Spanish salvo
Latin salvō
French sauver
Italian salvare
Spanish salvar
English salve
Latin salvātor
Spanish salvador
English savior
From the same root
Latin salveō ← salvus
Latin salvia ← salvus
Latin salvitās ← salvus
Latin salvātiō ← salvō

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈseɪvjə/[1]
  • US: /ˈseɪvjɚ/[1]

Forms

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English saveour, borrowed from Old French sauveour,[2][3][4][5][6] from Late Latin salvātor (“saver, preserver”),[2][3][4][5][6] from salvāre “to save”.[2][3][4][5][6] In Church Latin salvātor translated Greek sōtḗr “saviour”,[3][4] and in English the word replaced Old English hǣlend, literally “healer”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who saves mankind from sin, a title of Jesus Christ; also one who delivers from peril (before 1300).[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin and especially in English the word was used chiefly of Christ,[3][4] and in the New Testament of both Jesus and God.[4] The general sense, a person who rescues another from harm or danger, was present from the start.[4][2] The British spelling saviour has been kept even where other agent nouns in -our changed to -or, partly because of the conservatism of liturgy;[4] the Century Dictionary noted that some regarded savior as irreverent.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – a title of Christ; a deliverer.[3][4]
  • c. 1300 – Middle English salvatour, Jesus Christ.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who saves, rescues or delivers others from harm, danger or loss.
  2. (Savior) Jesus Christ, or God, as the bringer of salvation.

Usage notes

Savior is the usual American spelling and saviour the usual British one.[1][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Savior.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/savior. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·