savour

noun

1. (UK, countable)An aroma or smell.

   “And Noe [Noah] made an aulter vnto the LORDE⸝ and toke of all maner of clene beaſtes and all maner of clene foules⸝ and offred ſacrifyce vppon the aulter. And the LORDE ſmellyd a ſwete ſavoure and ſayd in his hert: I wyll henceforth no more curſe the erth for mannes ſake⸝ […]”

   “Matr[euis]. Gurney, I vvonder the king dies not, / Being in a vault vp to the knees in vvater, / To vvhich the channels of the caſtell runne, / […] / Gurn[ey]. And ſo do I, Matreuis: yeſternight / I opened but the doore to throvv him meate, / And I vvas almoſt ſtifeled vvith the ſauor.”

   “Then Melfoil beat, and Honey-ſuckles pound, / VVith theſe alluring Savours ſtrevv the Ground; […]”

   “[M]ethought I smelled the agreeable savour of roast beef; […]”

   “He held out to me a bowl of steaming broth, that filled the room with a savour sweeter, ten thousand times, to me than every rose and lily of the world; yet would not let me drink it at a gulp, but made me sip it with a spoon like any baby.”

2. (UK, uncountable)The quality which the sense of taste detects; also (countable), a specific flavour or taste, especially one different from the predominant one.

   “[B]y our Sences which conceiue al Colours, Sounds, Sents, Sauors, and Féelings; wée may ſee, heare, ſmell, taſt, and feele, that one ſelfſame workman made both the Sences, and the things that are ſubiect to the Sences.”

   “Cyders differ one from another eſpecially in colour and ſauour or reliſh.”

   “A Table richly ſpred, in regal mode, / VVith diſhes pill'd, and meats of nobleſt ſort / And ſavour, […]”

   “Viands of various kinds allure the taſte / Of choiceſt ſort and ſavour; rich repaſt!”

   “[page 848] Taste, gives knowledge of the savors of material things. […] [page 849] The primary facts of knowledge, form, color, sound, weight, savor, odor, etc., can be obtained only by the direct action of material things upon the senses and cannot be taught from books.”

3. (UK, countable)The quality which the sense of taste detects; also (countable), a specific flavour or taste, especially one different from the predominant one.

   “Ye are the ſalte of the earth: but if the ſalte haue loſt his ſauour, vvherevvith ſhal it be ſalted? It is thenceforthe good for nothing, but to be caſt out, & to be troden vnder fote of men.”

   “His houſe is as empty of Religion, as the vvhite of an Egg is of ſavour.”

   “"I have thought till now," she said, "that the Tower of Tillietudlem might have been a place of succour to those that are ready to perish, even if they were na sae deserving as they should have been—but I see auld fruit has little savour—our suffering and our services have been of an ancient date."”

   “[T]he lads felt that when no more tales could be told of the king of Maremma, savour would be gone out of the goatsflesh roasted in the charcoal in the woods, and the wineflask passed round when the last of the long furrows had been turned across the plains.”

4. (UK, countable, figuratively)A distinctive sensation like a flavour or taste, or an aroma or smell.

   “[W]hy is not my life a continual Joy? and the ſavor of Heaven perpetually upon my ſpirit?”

5. (UK, countable, figuratively)A particular quality, especially a small amount of it; a hint or trace of something.

   “Come ſir, this admiration is much of the ſauour of other your nevv prankes, I doe beſeech you vnderſtand my purpoſes aright, […]”

6. (UK, countable, figuratively)A quality which is appealing or enjoyable; merit, value.
7. (UK, archaic, countable, figuratively)A reputation.

   “The LORDE loke vpon you, ⁊ iudge it, for ye haue made the ſauoure of vs to ſtynke before Pharao and his ſeruauntes, and haue geuen them a ſwerde in their handes, to ſlaye vs.”

   “VVe left Arnulphus [i.e., Arnulf of Chocques] the laſt Patriarch of Jeruſalem; ſince vvhich time the bad ſavour of his life came to the Popes noſe, vvho ſent a Legate to depoſe him.”

   “Then came in hall the messenger of Mark, / A name of evil savour in the land, / The Cornish king.”

8. (UK, figuratively, uncountable)Enjoyment or taste for something; appreciation; pleasure; relish; (countable) an instance of this.

   “Gerald shook his head in the savour of triumph.”

9. (UK, figuratively, obsolete, uncountable)Knowledge; understanding.

   “[M]any of them were wery of theyr life, beyng very deſyrous of him [Jesus], of whom they had a certeyne ſauour and vnderſtandyng (ſimple though it wer:) who ſodenly ſhould renewe all kynde of men, and theyr ſynnes clerely abolyſhed, bryng them vnto the kyngdõ of righteouſneſſe.”

   “But as I can ſee no merit, / Leading to this favour: / So the vvay to fit me for it, / Is beyond my ſavour.”

verb

1. (UK, transitive)To detect (a flavour or taste, or food or drink); to taste; specifically, to enjoy or linger on (a flavour or taste, or food and drink); to relish.

   “He closed his eyes so he could really savour his dessert.”

2. (UK, transitive)To give (food or drink) flavour; to flavour, to season.

   “What Flesh is fitting for Man to Eat, / Until our Herbs do savour the Meat?”

   “[S]alt they had none; the ashes of a species of palm was their substitute, and this could only be used for savouring food, not for curing it.”

   “[S]oups they served of many sorts, seasoned most choicely, / in double helpings, as was due, and divers sorts of fish; / some baked in bread, some broiled on the coals, / some seethed, some in gravy savoured with spices, / and all with condiments so cunning that it caused him delight.”

3. (UK, archaic, transitive)To detect (an aroma or smell, especially an appealing one); to smell.

   “VViſedome and goodnes, to the vild ſeeme vild, / Filths ſauor but themſelues, vvhat haue you done?”

4. (UK, figuratively, transitive)To enjoy (something) deeply or in a lingering manner; to appreciate, to delight in, to relish.

   “VVhẽ vvickednes vvas ſvvete in his mouthe, & he hid it vnder his tongue, / And ſauoured it, and vvolde not forſake it, but kept it cloſe in his mouth, / Then his meat in his bovvels vvas turned: the gall of aſpes vvas in the middes of hĩ [him].”

   “[L]et me savor the sweetness of the name of Jesus as Thou [the Virgin Mary] savoredst it in thy heart, for it is just and meet, right and for our salvation, Queen of Heaven, thrice-blessed . . .”

   “A journey along the Conwy Valley line is one to savour for aficionados of scenic railways.”

5. (UK, figuratively, transitive)To find (something) appealing; to appreciate, to like.

   “The man that coueteth gold, conceiueth not goodneſſe, his appetite is of the earth, and thoſe that are earthly minded, ſauour not the things that are of God.”

   “Here, ſtalkes me by a proud, and ſpangled ſir, / That lookes three hand-fuls higher then his fore-top; / Sauours himſelfe alone, is onely kind / And louing to himſelfe: […]”

   “Beauteous Penthea […] is novv ſo yoak'd / To a moſt barbarous thraldome, miſery, / Affliction, that [s]he ſauors not humanity.”

   “The man that met thee, is one Worldly-Wiſeman, and rightly is he ſo called; / partly, becauſe he ſavoureth only the / Doctrine of this world […]”

6. (UK, archaic, figuratively, transitive)To possess (a particular, often negative, quality), especially a small amount of it; to be redolent or suggestive of (something).

   “No more be mention'd then of violence / Againſt our ſelves, and vvilful barrenneſs, / That cuts us off from hope, and ſavours onely / Rancor and pride, impatience and deſpite, / Reluctance againſt God and his juſt yoke / Laid on our Necks.”

7. (UK, figuratively, obsolete, transitive)To be appealing to (a person, the senses, etc.).
8. (UK, figuratively, obsolete, transitive)To experience, perceive, or understand (something).

   “BY novv, perhaps, thou ſauoreſts^([sic – meaning savorest]) ſome Godhead: yeat, is ods. / VVith paſte and preſent times doeſt dreame Pluralitie of Gods. / So did in deed the Monarchies, ſo Miſcreants novv not fevv: / But liſten here vvhat Gods they vvere, and learne them to eſchevv.”

   “[H]e [Jesus] turned, and ſaid vnto Peter, Get thee behind mee, Satan, thou sart an offence vnto me: for thou ſauoureſt not the things that be of God, but thoſe that be of men.”

9. (UK, figuratively, obsolete, transitive)To give (something) a particular quality; to imbue with.

   “So theſe olde huddles hauing ouercharged their gorges with fancie, accompte all honeſt recreation méere follly,^([sic]) and hauinge taken a ſurfet of delyght, ſéeme now to ſauor it with deſpight.”

10. (UK, figuratively, obsolete, rare, transitive)To give (something) an aroma or smell.
11. (UK, figuratively, obsolete, rare, transitive)Followed by out: to detect or find (something).
12. (UK, figuratively, obsolete, transitive)To have a suspicion of (something).

    “Siſter, I ſee you ſauour of my vviles, / Be it as you vvill haue for this once, […]”

13. (UK, archaic, intransitive)Of a thing: to give off a (specified) aroma or smell.

    “[T]he ſaffrone bagge that hath bene full of ſaffron, or hath had ſaffron in it, doth euer after ſauoure and ſmel of the ſwete ſaffron that it conteyned: […]”

    “[I]t [Parthenium] bringeth forth a vvhite floure, ſavouring like an apple, and having a bitter taſt.”

    “The spilt blood savoured horribly, / Heart-breaking the dumb writhings were, / Unuttered curses filled the air; […]”

14. (UK, archaic, intransitive, obsolete)Of food or drink: to have a specified (especially appealing) flavour or taste.

    “And I purpoſed to try, vvhether thoſe [meats] that pleaſed my taſte brought me commoditie or diſcommoditie; and vvhether that Proverb,[…], That vvhich ſavours, is good and nouriſheth, be conſonant to truth. This upon triall I found moſt falſe: […]”

    “We will go to the hall, and partake of the food which I ween steameth up and savoreth well of marjoram and thyme.”

15. (UK, figuratively, intransitive)To possess a particular (often negative) quality, especially a small amount of it; to be redolent or suggestive of.

    “Ol[ivia]. […] Fetch Maluolio hither, / And yet alas, novv I remember me, / They ſay poore Gentleman, he's much diſtract. […] Did he vvrite this? / Clo[wn]. I [aye] Madame. / Du[ke Orsino]. This ſauours not much of diſtraction.”

    “In ſuch a ſeaſon, vvhen the Idle Humerous vvorld muſt heare of nothing, that either ſauors of Antiquity, or may avvake it to ſeeke after more, then dull and ſlothfull ignorance may eaſily reach vnto: […]”

    “In general I vvill only ſay, that I have vvritten nothing vvhich ſavours of Immorality or Profaneneſs; at leaſt, I am not conſcious to my ſelf of any ſuch Intention.”

    “But, notwithstanding I have rejected every thing that savours of party, every thing that is loose and immoral, and every thing that might create uneasiness in the minds of particular persons, I find that the demand of my papers has increased every month since their first appearance in the world.”

    “[S]uch Solicitations from Superiors alvvays ſavour very ſtrongly of Commands.”

16. (UK, archaic, figuratively, intransitive)Chiefly followed by a descriptive word like ill or well: to have a specified quality.

    “What is loathsome to the young / Savours well to thee and me.”

    “Leaping from the tower of Beaurevoir into the ditch and preferring death to falling into the hands of the English, after the Voices had forbidden it.—This was pusillanimity, tending to desperation and suicide; and in saying that God had forgiven it, "thou savorest ill as to human free-will."”

17. (UK, intransitive, obsolete)To give off a foul smell; to stink.
18. (UK, figuratively, intransitive, obsolete)Chiefly followed by to, unto, with, etc.: to be appealing.