Saviour

How to spell saviour

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce saviour

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does saviour mean?

1. nounA person who rescues someone or something from danger, harm, or difficulty.

Saviour in a sentence

• The volunteer crew became the saviour of the stranded hikers.

• The new investor was hailed as the saviour of the struggling factory.

Where does saviour come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin salvator, meaning 'one who saves' or 'a rescuer', which was itself built on the verb salvare 'to save' and ultimately on salvus, meaning 'safe, sound, or in good health'. The same salvus root gives us 'salvation', 'salvage', and even 'salute'. English took the word in during the 1200s and 1300s through Old French, where it appeared as sauveour, and the form passed through Anglo-Norman before settling into Middle English. The distinctively British and Canadian spelling keeps the French-derived '-our' ending, where American English trims it to '-or' in 'savior'. That unstressed '-iour' cluster is the heart of the spelling trap: the ending sounds like a plain 'yer', giving no clue that an 'i' sits before the 'o'.

How the word is built

• salv-/sav- (to save, from Latin salvare)
• -iour (agent suffix: one who does the action)

British and American spelling

Saviour is the British spelling. American English spells it savior.