Sav or savage?
sav is a noun meaning “A saveloy”; savage is an adjective meaning “Wild; not cultivated or tamed”. Use sav as a noun and savage as an adjective (savage is also a noun: “A member of a traditional, nonindustrialised society or…”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) savage is about 20 times as common as sav.
What is the difference between sav and savage?
| sav | savage | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, adjective | adjective, noun, verb |
| Meaning | AustraliaUKinformalA saveloy | Wild; not cultivated or tamed Barbaric; not civilized An aggressively defiant person |
| Example | none recorded | a savage wilderness |
| Forms | savs | none |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈsævɪd͡ʒ/ /ˈsavɪd͡ʒ/ /ˈsævəd͡ʒ/ |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words | 11 times per million words |
Sources: sav and savage in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of sav and savage
sav
- 1
AustraliaUKinformalA saveloy
- 2
UKslangClipping of savage (“unpleasant or unfair”)
- 3
slangA ruthless or badass person; a savage
- 4
Abbreviation of savings
savage
- 1
Wild; not cultivated or tamed
a savage wilderness
- 2
derogatoryA member of a traditional, nonindustrialised society or indigenous tribe or other group, typically living closely with nature outside of the infrastructure of urbanized civilization
- 3
To attack or assault someone or something ferociously or without restraint
No matter how anyone might savage me, I should stay strong
- 4
Barbaric; not civilized
savage manners
- 5
An aggressively defiant person
Their kids are little savages! One of them bit me the other day
- 6
To criticise vehemently
His latest film was savaged by most reviewers
- 7
Primitive; lacking complexity or sophistication
- 8
slangSomeone who speaks in an audacious, hilarious, and often sarcastic manner
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, sav or savage?
sav appears about once in every 2 million words; savage 11 times per million words.
sav about once in every 2 million wordssavage 11 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).