Savior or Saviour
The following is a supplement to "Jesus", "the Jesus" or "the Savior": Usage of the Definite Article in the Greek Gospels courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary. Secondary citations are in red.
14th century
1330c (▸?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 7916
Þai han þe signe of our Saueour, Wherþurth..It is socour of þis lond.
1382 ▸a Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xli. 45
He clepide hym in Egypcyan tonge: þe saueour [a1425 Corpus Oxf. saueor; L. Salvatorem] of þe world.
1390c (▸a1376) Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. xi. l. 66
Whi wolde God vr saueour suffre such a worm In such a wrong wyse þe wommon to bi-gyle?
Þai han þe signe of our Saueour, Wherþurth..It is socour of þis lond.
1382 ▸a Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xli. 45
He clepide hym in Egypcyan tonge: þe saueour [a1425 Corpus Oxf. saueor; L. Salvatorem] of þe world.
1390c (▸a1376) Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. xi. l. 66
Whi wolde God vr saueour suffre such a worm In such a wrong wyse þe wommon to bi-gyle?
15th century
1400a (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4666 (MED),
His nam þai chaunged, fra þat our, And cald him ‘warld sauueour’.
1425a (▸?a1400) Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 6434
But thou yeve me my sauyour At ester.
1432c (▸1399) Chaucer Complaint to Purse (BL Add. 22139) (1879) l. 16
Now purse that be to me my lyues lyghte And sauyour [c1450 Fairf. saveour] as down in this worlde here.
1450a (▸a1425) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 12
Ȝef thou plese thy sauyoure, Ȝef thow be not grete clerk, Loke thow moste on thys werk.
1450a (▸a1425) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1883
Ȝef he aske hys sauyour, Gyf hym hyt wyþ gret honour.
1470 ▸a Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 1004
Than asked she her Saveoure, and as sone as she had reseyved Hym the soule departed frome the body.
1472 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 16
In the name of our lord Ihesu criste our Savyour: Amen.
1480c (▸a1400) St. Peter 674 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 26
And petir till hym [sc. Paul] þis can say: ‘..far wele ay..lledar of heile and saweoure!’
His nam þai chaunged, fra þat our, And cald him ‘warld sauueour’.
1425a (▸?a1400) Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 6434
But thou yeve me my sauyour At ester.
1432c (▸1399) Chaucer Complaint to Purse (BL Add. 22139) (1879) l. 16
Now purse that be to me my lyues lyghte And sauyour [c1450 Fairf. saveour] as down in this worlde here.
1450a (▸a1425) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 12
Ȝef thou plese thy sauyoure, Ȝef thow be not grete clerk, Loke thow moste on thys werk.
1450a (▸a1425) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1883
Ȝef he aske hys sauyour, Gyf hym hyt wyþ gret honour.
1470 ▸a Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 1004
Than asked she her Saveoure, and as sone as she had reseyved Hym the soule departed frome the body.
1472 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 16
In the name of our lord Ihesu criste our Savyour: Amen.
1480c (▸a1400) St. Peter 674 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 26
And petir till hym [sc. Paul] þis can say: ‘..far wele ay..lledar of heile and saweoure!’
16th century
1509 Kynge Rycharde Cuer du Lyon (de Worde) sig. F.iiiv,
He swore a full grete othe By Jhesu cryste our sauyoure.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xlvi. 1
A greate sauioure vnto the electe of God.
1552 H. Latimer Serm. 1st Sunday Epiph. (1584) 297
Likewise shippes and boates..vpon the Seas are Sauiours, for they saue vs from the fury, rage, and tempest of the Sea.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxx,
Saynct Geneuefa is the sauiour of Paris.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxx. 568
There are two commings of Christ, the one in lowlynes.., Poore, Lowely, and Sauiourlyke; and the other in maiestie.
1590 E. Digby Dissuasiue 196
Gabriell the spirit of the Moone..begun his dominion ouer the world, the yeare of our Saviour his incarnation 1525.
1598 J. Gerard tr. L. Scupoli Spiritual Confl. xxxi. sig. I.2v,
Although thou canst not receiue thy Sauior more then once a day sacramentally, notwithstanding thou maiest receiue him spiritually, euery houre and moment.
He swore a full grete othe By Jhesu cryste our sauyoure.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xlvi. 1
A greate sauioure vnto the electe of God.
1552 H. Latimer Serm. 1st Sunday Epiph. (1584) 297
Likewise shippes and boates..vpon the Seas are Sauiours, for they saue vs from the fury, rage, and tempest of the Sea.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxx,
Saynct Geneuefa is the sauiour of Paris.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxx. 568
There are two commings of Christ, the one in lowlynes.., Poore, Lowely, and Sauiourlyke; and the other in maiestie.
1590 E. Digby Dissuasiue 196
Gabriell the spirit of the Moone..begun his dominion ouer the world, the yeare of our Saviour his incarnation 1525.
1598 J. Gerard tr. L. Scupoli Spiritual Confl. xxxi. sig. I.2v,
Although thou canst not receiue thy Sauior more then once a day sacramentally, notwithstanding thou maiest receiue him spiritually, euery houre and moment.
17th century
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1099
The moone and other starres, being forsooth gods, worke together with the sunne, unto their owne destruction... Now surely this were a very mockerie, and ridiculous thing for us..to repute them the saviours of men.
1611 Bible (A.V.) Neh. ix. 27
Thou gauest them sauiours, who saued them out of the hand of their enemies.
1615 E. Evans Verba Dierum 146
His Lordship ioyned..His Saviourship to his Babeship.
1638 F. Hawkins tr. J. Puget de La Serre Alarum for Ladyes 17
Yee part I say from the Confession chaire to the Altar, there to receiue your Saviour with soules more disposed to offend heere after.
1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe 208
They sacrificed to Jupiter Soter, the saviour of the reposed Child.
1659 J. Pearson Expos. Creed 498
They who did annunciate unto the blessed Virgin the conception of the Saviour.
1660 J. Collop Itur Satyricum 5
Charls..Who Saviour like, turnes Water into Wine.
1667 Milton Paradise Lost iii. 412
Hail Son of God, Saviour of Men.
1700 B. Jenks Submission Righteousness of God 51
The Works they look upon, as their Real Saviours.
The moone and other starres, being forsooth gods, worke together with the sunne, unto their owne destruction... Now surely this were a very mockerie, and ridiculous thing for us..to repute them the saviours of men.
1611 Bible (A.V.) Neh. ix. 27
Thou gauest them sauiours, who saued them out of the hand of their enemies.
1615 E. Evans Verba Dierum 146
His Lordship ioyned..His Saviourship to his Babeship.
1638 F. Hawkins tr. J. Puget de La Serre Alarum for Ladyes 17
Yee part I say from the Confession chaire to the Altar, there to receiue your Saviour with soules more disposed to offend heere after.
1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe 208
They sacrificed to Jupiter Soter, the saviour of the reposed Child.
1659 J. Pearson Expos. Creed 498
They who did annunciate unto the blessed Virgin the conception of the Saviour.
1660 J. Collop Itur Satyricum 5
Charls..Who Saviour like, turnes Water into Wine.
1667 Milton Paradise Lost iii. 412
Hail Son of God, Saviour of Men.
1700 B. Jenks Submission Righteousness of God 51
The Works they look upon, as their Real Saviours.
18th century
1709 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ (ed. 2) iii. 306
The Names, the Honours of her Saviour-God, His Cross, his Grave, his Victory, and his Crown.
1711a T. Ken Edmund in Wks. (1721) II. xiii. 357
Edmund no Christ-like Virtue seem'd to need, But on the Cross and Saviour-like to bleed.
1715 Pope Temple of Fame 18
And Scipio, Saviour of the Roman State, Great in his Triumphs, in Retirement great.
1744 Swift 3 Serm. i. 11
Our Saviour tells us, that every Man is our Neighbour.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xxviii. 181
Who is the king, the lawgiver, the redeemer, and the savior.
1765 ‘Rabby Shylock’ Jew Apologist ii. vi. 109
The saviourship and the merits of Christ.
1774 J. Wilkes Corr. (1805) IV. 185
Those who..now dare to persecute the saviour of India.
1786 S. J. Pratt Triumph of Benevolence 7
Ah, what is friend or foe to Him, whose soul Girding creation in one warm embrace, Extends the saviour arm from pole to pole, And feels akin to all the human race!
The Names, the Honours of her Saviour-God, His Cross, his Grave, his Victory, and his Crown.
1711a T. Ken Edmund in Wks. (1721) II. xiii. 357
Edmund no Christ-like Virtue seem'd to need, But on the Cross and Saviour-like to bleed.
1715 Pope Temple of Fame 18
And Scipio, Saviour of the Roman State, Great in his Triumphs, in Retirement great.
1744 Swift 3 Serm. i. 11
Our Saviour tells us, that every Man is our Neighbour.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xxviii. 181
Who is the king, the lawgiver, the redeemer, and the savior.
1765 ‘Rabby Shylock’ Jew Apologist ii. vi. 109
The saviourship and the merits of Christ.
1774 J. Wilkes Corr. (1805) IV. 185
Those who..now dare to persecute the saviour of India.
1786 S. J. Pratt Triumph of Benevolence 7
Ah, what is friend or foe to Him, whose soul Girding creation in one warm embrace, Extends the saviour arm from pole to pole, And feels akin to all the human race!
19th century
1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. x. xxxv,
Laila rush'd between To save the saviour Youth.
1804 ‘Gabrielli’ Something Odd! III. 126
Thus died the means I had looked to as the saviour of myself and children.
1822a Shelley Assassins ii, in Prose Wks. (1888) II. 158
How many holy liars..would his saviour arm drag from their luxurious couches.
1824 Literary Magnet 2 25
Society is still the saviour ark Must bear us in her bosom safe along Life's rising waters.
1827 J. Keble Christian Year I. xxxv. 138
With the Saviour's life-blood wet.
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log II. viii. 364
A statue erected to Lord Rodney, the saviour of the Island, as he is always called, from having crushed the fleet of Count de Grasse.
1844 J. Shepherd tr. J. B. Pagani Anima Divota vii. 67
With what confidence can I present myself to receive my Saviour in the most Blessed Sacrament?
1855 J. R. Macduff Mind of Jesus p. iv,
Oh, that each individual Christian were more Saviourlike!
1863 Homilist 3rd Ser. 1 346/1
Jesus, in his Saviourhood, was made perfect through suffering.
1864 Tennyson Enoch Arden 783
O God Almighty, blessed Saviour,..Uphold me, Father.
1871 Evening Hours 1 18/1
The flood of waters overwhelmed the world that then was. But the saviour ark floated above those desolate seas.
1871 R. Browning (title)
Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau: Saviour of Society.
1880 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names,
Our Lord's Flannel, or Our Saviour's Flannel, (1)Echium vulgare, L.—Kent... (2) Verbascum Thapsus, L.—Kent.
1880 M. Müller God Teacher of Mankind VIII. 248
When he was but nine years old, [he] approached one day the communion rail, whilst the priest was distributing holy communion, impelled by a strong desire to receive his Saviour.
1882 H. Friend Gloss. Devonshire Plant Names 10
In Sussex the small plant (Stachys lanata) with a similar leaf is called ‘Saviour's Blanket’.
1883 Medium & Daybreak 5 Jan. 7/2
We are all the saviours of one another, so that the question of saviourship appears to be a general principle.
1894 Rev. of Reviews (N.Y. ed.) July 107
It was sex which was the savior of the race.
1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad i. 2
To fields that bred them brave, The saviours come not home to-night.
1900 A. E. P. Dowling Flora of Sacred Nativity 74
Verbascum... It's thick leaves are called in Kent ‘Our Saviour's Flannel’ as if in memory of the swaddling bands of the Christmas Night.
1900 R. J. Campbell in Christian World Pulpit 31 Jan. 71
The Saviourhood of Christ.
Laila rush'd between To save the saviour Youth.
1804 ‘Gabrielli’ Something Odd! III. 126
Thus died the means I had looked to as the saviour of myself and children.
1822a Shelley Assassins ii, in Prose Wks. (1888) II. 158
How many holy liars..would his saviour arm drag from their luxurious couches.
1824 Literary Magnet 2 25
Society is still the saviour ark Must bear us in her bosom safe along Life's rising waters.
1827 J. Keble Christian Year I. xxxv. 138
With the Saviour's life-blood wet.
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log II. viii. 364
A statue erected to Lord Rodney, the saviour of the Island, as he is always called, from having crushed the fleet of Count de Grasse.
1844 J. Shepherd tr. J. B. Pagani Anima Divota vii. 67
With what confidence can I present myself to receive my Saviour in the most Blessed Sacrament?
1855 J. R. Macduff Mind of Jesus p. iv,
Oh, that each individual Christian were more Saviourlike!
1863 Homilist 3rd Ser. 1 346/1
Jesus, in his Saviourhood, was made perfect through suffering.
1864 Tennyson Enoch Arden 783
O God Almighty, blessed Saviour,..Uphold me, Father.
1871 Evening Hours 1 18/1
The flood of waters overwhelmed the world that then was. But the saviour ark floated above those desolate seas.
1871 R. Browning (title)
Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau: Saviour of Society.
1880 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names,
Our Lord's Flannel, or Our Saviour's Flannel, (1)Echium vulgare, L.—Kent... (2) Verbascum Thapsus, L.—Kent.
1880 M. Müller God Teacher of Mankind VIII. 248
When he was but nine years old, [he] approached one day the communion rail, whilst the priest was distributing holy communion, impelled by a strong desire to receive his Saviour.
1882 H. Friend Gloss. Devonshire Plant Names 10
In Sussex the small plant (Stachys lanata) with a similar leaf is called ‘Saviour's Blanket’.
1883 Medium & Daybreak 5 Jan. 7/2
We are all the saviours of one another, so that the question of saviourship appears to be a general principle.
1894 Rev. of Reviews (N.Y. ed.) July 107
It was sex which was the savior of the race.
1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad i. 2
To fields that bred them brave, The saviours come not home to-night.
1900 A. E. P. Dowling Flora of Sacred Nativity 74
Verbascum... It's thick leaves are called in Kent ‘Our Saviour's Flannel’ as if in memory of the swaddling bands of the Christmas Night.
1900 R. J. Campbell in Christian World Pulpit 31 Jan. 71
The Saviourhood of Christ.
20th century
1906 A. Mackintosh J. Chamberlain xliv. 377
Yesterday the House of Lords deserved to be abolished, to-day it is the saviour of the country.
1910 D. O'Shea Won by Conviction xviii. 197,
I can't do better for him than to give him his Saviour, really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.
1917 J. J. Munro Christ in Tombs xxiii. 152
She was a Christian woman and rejoiced in Christ as her Lord and Saviour.
1927 Melody Maker Aug. 738 (advt.)
The manufacturers..have been hailed as the saviours of Tenor Saxophonists.
1927 V. Woolf Diary 4 July (1980) III. 144
They [sc. slightly furred cheeks] are like saviours flannel, of which she picked me a great bunch, in texture.
1936 Times 15 Feb. 15/4
The Protevangelium, the promise of the coming of the Saviour.
1948 Billboard 27 Nov. 16/1
It [sc. video] might even turn out to be the savior of the capitalist system.
1959 Baseball Digest Oct. 24/1
He was the savior baseball had to find after the Chicago White Sox dumped the 1919 World Series.
1974 M. G. Porter Whence Power? 133
Henderson stalks off, saviorlike, to rid the cistern of frogs and thus lift the plague.
1980 A. O. Bell & A. McNeillie Diary Virginia Woolf III. 144 (note)
Stachys Lanate [sic], known variously as Saviour's Blanket, Jesus's Blanket, Lamb's, Donkey's or Rabbit's Ears.
1992 T. Szasz Our Right to Drugs ii. 49
This role of universal religious-therapeutic saviorship seems to fit America's collective spirit so perfectly [etc.].
1994 L. S. Granger tr. J. van Herwaarden Joan of Arc 57
Joan..emphasized that it was totally irrelevant whether one wears men's or women's clothes if one wishes to receive the Saviour.
1997 J. Bowker World Relig. 15/2 (caption)
Mithras was a Persian saviour god.
2000 Western Daily Press (Bristol) (Nexis) 11 Apr. 10
The King's Royal Hussars..were hailed as saviours by Albanians threatened by Serbs.
Yesterday the House of Lords deserved to be abolished, to-day it is the saviour of the country.
1910 D. O'Shea Won by Conviction xviii. 197,
I can't do better for him than to give him his Saviour, really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.
1917 J. J. Munro Christ in Tombs xxiii. 152
She was a Christian woman and rejoiced in Christ as her Lord and Saviour.
1927 Melody Maker Aug. 738 (advt.)
The manufacturers..have been hailed as the saviours of Tenor Saxophonists.
1927 V. Woolf Diary 4 July (1980) III. 144
They [sc. slightly furred cheeks] are like saviours flannel, of which she picked me a great bunch, in texture.
1936 Times 15 Feb. 15/4
The Protevangelium, the promise of the coming of the Saviour.
1948 Billboard 27 Nov. 16/1
It [sc. video] might even turn out to be the savior of the capitalist system.
1959 Baseball Digest Oct. 24/1
He was the savior baseball had to find after the Chicago White Sox dumped the 1919 World Series.
1974 M. G. Porter Whence Power? 133
Henderson stalks off, saviorlike, to rid the cistern of frogs and thus lift the plague.
1980 A. O. Bell & A. McNeillie Diary Virginia Woolf III. 144 (note)
Stachys Lanate [sic], known variously as Saviour's Blanket, Jesus's Blanket, Lamb's, Donkey's or Rabbit's Ears.
1992 T. Szasz Our Right to Drugs ii. 49
This role of universal religious-therapeutic saviorship seems to fit America's collective spirit so perfectly [etc.].
1994 L. S. Granger tr. J. van Herwaarden Joan of Arc 57
Joan..emphasized that it was totally irrelevant whether one wears men's or women's clothes if one wishes to receive the Saviour.
1997 J. Bowker World Relig. 15/2 (caption)
Mithras was a Persian saviour god.
2000 Western Daily Press (Bristol) (Nexis) 11 Apr. 10
The King's Royal Hussars..were hailed as saviours by Albanians threatened by Serbs.
21st century
2003 P. Coates Cinema, Relig., & Romantic Legacy iii. 81
In Terminator 2..the signs of Saviourhood are distributed evenly between Connor and the Terminator himself.
2006 M. Nudelman We, the Women 29,
I peck uncle's cheek and he opens savior arms like a prayer shawl.
2008 B. Damrosch Garden Primer (rev. ed.) iv.120/2
Stachys lanata is variously called lamb's ears, woolly betony, and Saviour's flannel.
2008 D. Simmons Anti-hero in Amer. Novel i. 34
In the 1960s, youth is positioned in opposition to the corrupt adult world and imbued with a distinctly savior-like role.
2008 P. Golenbock In Country of Brooklyn ii. xxv. 333
When I got out of the service, they had passed the GI Bill, which was the savior for this country in a lot of ways.
2011 P. Kurts Trinitarian Lett. 4
Jesus continues to be our Saviour, redeemer and deliverer.