Etymologically
Log in

salon

Etymology and origin of the English word salon

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1690s
Borrowed from
French salon
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic (*salaz)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French salon
English salon

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsælɒn/ (UK); /səˈlɑn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French salon (“reception room”),[2][3] from Italian salone (“large hall”),[2][3] from sala (“hall”), from a Germanic source,[2][3] compare Old High German sal (“hall, house”) (modern Saal) and Old English sele (“hall”),[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *salaz,[3][2] from Proto-Indo-European *sel- (“dwelling”), the one room a house once had, also seen in Old Church Slavonic село (selo, “field, village”).[3][2] It is a doublet of saloon.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A large room in a palace or great house: the 1690s in Etymonline;[3] a room for receiving guests in 1699, in Martin Lister's Journey to Paris, in Barnhart and the OED.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The reception room of a Parisian lady of fashion is by 1810,[3][6] and a gathering of fashionable or distinguished people there from 1888, found in the form saloon in 1838.[2][3] The Salon, the annual Paris exhibition of painting and sculpture, is from 1875, from its being held in one of the salons of the Louvre.[3][6] A hairdresser's or beauty specialist's establishment is from 1913.[3][6]

Timeline

  • 1699 – a reception room.[2][6]
  • 1810 – a Parisian salon.[3][6]
  • 1875 – the Salon exhibition.[3][6]
  • 1888 – a gathering of notables.[2]
  • 1913 – a beauty salon.[3][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A business where a hairdresser, beautician or the like works: a hair salon.
  2. A room in a large house for receiving guests.
  3. A regular gathering of writers, artists or other notable people at a fashionable home.
  4. A hall or gallery for showing works of art.

Word family

  • beauty salon
  • salon music
  • saloon
  • sala

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Salon.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/salon. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·