salt

英文詞源

salt

salt: [OE] Salt was a key element in the diet of our Indo-European ancestors, and their word for it, *sal-, is the source of virtually all the modern European terms, including Russian sol’, Polish sól, Serbo-Croat so, Irish salann, and Welsh halen. Greek háls has given English halogen [19]. And Latin sāl, besides evolving into French sel, Italian sale, Spanish sal, and Romanian sare, has contributed an enormous range of vocabulary to English, including salad, salary, saline [15], salsa, sauce, saucer, and sausage.

Its Germanic descendant was *salt-, which has produced Swedish, Danish, and English salt and Dutch zout, and also lies behind English silt and souse.
=> halogen, salad, salary, saline, salsa, sauce, saucer, sausage, silt, souse

SALT (n.)

Cold War U.S.-U.S.S.R. nuclear weapons negotiations, 1968, acronym for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (which would make SALT talks redundant, but the last element sometimes also is understood as treaty).

salt (n.)

Old English sealt "salt" (n.; also as an adjective, "salty, briny"), from Proto-Germanic *saltom (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old Frisian, Gothic salt, Dutch zout, German Salz), from PIE *sal- (1) "salt" (cognates: Greek hals "salt, sea," Latin sal, Old Church Slavonic soli, Old Irish salann, Welsh halen "salt").

Modern chemistry sense is from 1790. Meaning "experienced sailor" is first attested 1840, in reference to the salinity of the sea. Salt was long regarded as having power to repel spiritual and magical evil. Many metaphoric uses reflect that this was once a rare and important resource, such as worth one's salt (1830), salt of the earth (Old English, after Matt. v:13). Belief that spilling salt brings bad luck is attested from 16c. To be above (or below) the salt (1590s) refers to customs of seating at a long table according to rank or honor, and placing a large salt-cellar in the middle of the dining table.

Salt-lick first recorded 1751; salt-marsh is Old English sealtne mersc; salt-shaker is from 1882. Salt-and-pepper "of dark and light color" first recorded 1915. To take something with a grain of salt is from 1640s, from Modern Latin cum grano salis.

salt (v.)

Old English sealtan, from Proto-Germanic *salto- (see salt (n.)), and in part from the noun. Related: Salted; salting.