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savory

Etymology and origin of the English word savory

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈseɪ.və.ɹi/, /ˈseɪv.ɹi/[1]

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Middle English savure, later savery,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French savouré (“tasty”), the past participle of savourer “to taste”,[2][3][4] from Late Latin sapōrāre, from Latin sapor “taste”.[2] The herb name is inherited from Middle English saverey, ultimately from Latin saturēia,[2][3][4][5][6] perhaps through Old English sætherie or Old French sarree, altered under the influence of the adjective.[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Spiritually delightful (c. 1200), and by about 1300 flavourful;[3][4] the herb is recorded from about 1000 in the OED and 1373 in Barnhart.[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective was originally figurative, used of virtues and other spiritual things;[4] of food and drink it meant “tasty, flavourful” by the late 14th century.[4] It later came to mean “piquant or salty rather than sweet”.[2][5][1] In Britain a savoury is a small piquant dish served at the end of dinner or as an appetizer (1661).[5][2] The British spelling is savoury.[6][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – the herb (Old English sætherie).[7]
  • c. 1200 – adjective, spiritually delightful.[3][4]
  • c. 1300 – adjective, flavourful.[3]
  • 1661 – noun, a piquant dish (British).[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Pleasant to the taste or smell; appetizing.
  2. Piquant, salty or spicy rather than sweet.
  3. Morally respectable or wholesome, as in not a savory character.

Noun

  1. (British) A small dish of piquant flavour served at the end of dinner or as an appetizer.
  2. Either of two aromatic Mediterranean herbs of the mint family, summer savory and winter savory, used in cooking.

Word family

  • unsavory
  • summer savory
  • winter savory
  • savor
  • sapid
  • sage

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Savory.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/savory. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·