-iour

suffix (also -ior) forming nouns (saviour; warrior).
Etymology: -I- (as a stem element) + -OUR(2), -OR(1)

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-iour

a compound suffix, viz. -our (OF. -ur, -or, F. -eur), preceded by an i representing i, ei, e, of another element; as in saviour, ME. and AF. sauveour, OF. sauve-ur, -e-or, early OF. salvedur:—L. salvātōrem; later F. sauveur; in some cases a corruption of a different suffix, as in haviour, behaviour: see -our. Through the general later change of -our to -or, and the confusion of this with -er, several words formerly in -iour are now written -ior (as warrior), -ier (as currier, soldier).