savour
/ˈseɪvə/
"savour" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“savour” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #38,147 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #38,147
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An aroma or smell.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | savour |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈseɪvə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #38,147 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “savour” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for savour is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈseɪvə/. Corpus data places it at rank #38,147 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for savour, with forms such as "asvour", "saovur", and "savoru". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "sour", "Savoy", "scour", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English savour, from Anglo-Norman saveur, savor, savour, and Old French saveur, savor, savour (modern French saveur), from Latin sapor, from sapiō (“to taste of (something); to have a flavour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p-, *sep-… The correct English form is savour, spelled S-A-V-O-U-R.
Definition
- 1An aroma or smell.
- 2The quality which the sense of taste detects; also (countable), a specific flavour or taste, especially one different from the predominant one.
- 3The quality which the sense of taste detects; also (countable), a specific flavour or taste, especially one different from the predominant one.
- 4A distinctive sensation like a flavour or taste, or an aroma or smell.
- 5A particular quality, especially a small amount of it; a hint or trace of something.
- 6A quality which is appealing or enjoyable; merit, value.
- 7A reputation.
- 8Enjoyment or taste for something; appreciation; pleasure; relish; (countable) an instance of this.
- 9Knowledge; understanding.
Etymology
From Middle English savour, from Anglo-Norman saveur, savor, savour, and Old French saveur, savor, savour (modern French saveur), from Latin sapor, from sapiō (“to taste of (something); to have a flavour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p-, *sep- (“to taste; to try out”)) + -or (suffix forming third-declension masculine abstract nouns). Doublet of sapor.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: asvour,saovur,savoru,savourr,savuor,savvour,ssavour,svaour
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of savour - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “savour”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-A-V-O-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈseɪvə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “sour” - see the side-by-side comparison. savour vs sour
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.