savory English · revision 905

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈseɪ.və.ɹi/, /ˈseɪv.ɹi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[inh|enm|savure]], later ''savery'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|savouré|t=tasty]], the past participle of ''savourer'' “to taste”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[la-lat|sapōrāre]], from Latin ''sapor'' “taste”.^(AHD) The herb name is [[inh|enm|saverey]], ultimately from [[la|saturēia]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) perhaps through Old English ''sætherie'' or Old French ''sarree'', altered under the influence of the adjective.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Spiritually delightful (c. 1200), and by about 1300 flavourful;^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) the herb is recorded from about 1000 in the OED and 1373 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective was originally figurative, used of virtues and other spiritual things;^(Etymonline) of food and drink it meant “tasty, flavourful” by the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) It later came to mean “piquant or salty rather than sweet”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) In Britain a ''savoury'' is a small piquant dish served at the end of dinner or as an appetizer (1661).^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD) The British spelling is ''savoury''.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – the herb (Old English ''sætherie'').^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – adjective, spiritually delightful.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – adjective, flavourful.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1661 – noun, a piquant dish (British).^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Pleasant to the taste or smell; appetizing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Piquant, salty or spicy rather than sweet.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Morally respectable or wholesome, as in ''not a savory character''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(British)'' A small dish of piquant flavour served at the end of dinner or as an appetizer.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Either of two aromatic Mediterranean herbs of the [[mint]] family, summer savory and winter savory, used in cooking.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[unsavory]]

+ * [[summer savory]]

+ * [[winter savory]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[savor]]

+ * [[sapid]]

+ * [[sage]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}