Umami

Etymology

Coined in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who isolated glutamate from kombu seaweed and built the word from Japanese "umai" (delicious) plus "mi" (taste). He proposed it as a fifth basic taste, but Western science accepted it as one only decades later, once glutamate receptors on the tongue were identified.

noun · /oo-MAH-mee/
The savory, brothy, mouth-filling taste of glutamate — the fifth basic taste alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
What it names
It gives a name to the deep, meaty satisfaction of parmesan, soy sauce, mushrooms, and ripe tomatoes that “savory” only gestures at.
Example
A spoonful of miso adds a wave of umami that makes the whole soup taste rounder and more complete.
Related idea
Distinct from savory, which is the broad category of non-sweet flavor; umami is one specific taste within it, the particular glutamate note.