Sa·voy

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• A historical region and former duchy of southeast France, western Switzerland, and northwest Italy. The region changed hands many times before becoming a duchy in the early 1400s. In 1720 the duke of Savoy gained the title king of Sardinia, and in 1861 the Savoyard Victor Emmanuel II ascended the throne of the newly formed kingdom of Italy. Much of the original territory was ceded to France at the same time.
• A ruling house founded in the 11th century that later governed Sardinia (1720–1861) and Italy (1861–1946).