savours

Noun

savour (countable and uncountable, plural savours)

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⸝ […]1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Genesis...
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.1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “That there is a God, and that All Men Agree in the Godhead”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the...
   1. (UK, countable) An appealing or appetizing flavour, especially one which is savoury or strong.
      • 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.1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, S. Matthewe V:13, folio...
3. (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?1649, Richard Baxter, “What Affections Must be Acted, and by what Considerations and Obje[c]ts, and in what Order”, in The Saints Everlasting Rest: Or, A Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints...
4. (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, […]c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […]...

   Synonyms:

   tinge

5. (UK, countable, figuratively) A quality which is appealing or enjoyable; merit, value.

See all 27 meanings of savour