Etymologically
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salute

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /səˈl(j)uːt/[1]
  • US: /səˈlut/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English saluten,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin salūtō (“to greet, pay one's respects to”),[5][6][2][3][7] from salūs (“health, welfare, greeting”).[5][6][8][7] The Latin verb literally meant "to wish health to", since greetings usually wished good health.[6][2][9] Salūs is related to salvus (“safe”),[6][8] from Proto-Indo-European *sol- (“whole, well-kept”).[6][3] It replaced an earlier Middle English verb salue, from Old French saluer.[10][6] The noun is partly from Old French salut and partly from the English verb;[11][10][7] the OED explains French salut as both a verbal noun of saluer and a continuation of the Latin noun itself, in the sense of health or safety.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To greet someone with words of good will or respect: about 1380, in Wyclif,[5] and before 1382 in the Wycliffite Bible.[2] An older verb salue is recorded from about 1300.[6]

Semantic evolution

Greeting by a gesture rather than by words is recorded from about 1440.[5][2] Military and naval saluting, paying respect to a superior by a set movement or by firing guns or displaying flags, dates from 1582,[5][6] and in the 18th century the verb often meant to greet with a kiss.[6][5] The noun, recorded from before 1400, followed the same course:[5][2] a kiss of greeting (1590), a discharge of guns or dipping of flags in honour of someone (1698),[5][2][6] and the hand raised to the cap, which Etymonline dates from 1832 and Barnhart from 1876, after an older salute made by raising the hat (1779).[6][2][5] Fencers' formal greeting before a bout is called a salute from 1809.[5] In French the noun also named a 15th-century gold coin showing the Annunciation, struck by Charles VI of France and by Henry V and Henry VI of England, and salute is used for it in English from 1455.[5][11][4] Johnson (1755) defined the noun simply as salutation or greeting.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – salue, to greet (an earlier verb).[6]
  • c. 1380 – to greet with words of good will or respect.[5]
  • a1400 – noun, a greeting or gesture of greeting.[5][2]
  • c. 1440 – to greet with a gesture of respect.[5][2]
  • 1455 – noun, a French gold coin showing the Annunciation.[5]
  • 1582 – military and naval: to pay respect by a set gesture or by firing guns.[5]
  • 1590 – noun, a kiss of greeting.[5]
  • 1698 – noun, a discharge of guns or display of flags as a mark of honour.[5][2]
  • 1809 – fencing: the formal greeting before a bout.[5]
  • 1832 – noun, the hand raised to the cap or forehead in military greeting.[5][6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To make a formal military gesture of respect to someone, especially by raising the right hand to the forehead or by presenting arms: The sentry saluted the general.
  2. To greet someone with words or with a gesture of respect, such as a bow.
  3. To praise or honour publicly: The mayor saluted the volunteers for their work.

Noun

  1. A formal military gesture of respect, such as raising the hand to the forehead.
  2. An act of greeting; a salutation.
  3. A firing of guns, dipping of flags or similar act in honour of someone: a 21-gun salute.
  4. (fencing) The formal greeting of fencers before a bout.
  5. (historical) A French gold coin of the 15th century, also struck by English kings.

Word family

  • saluter
  • resalute
  • unsaluted
  • unsaluting
  • salubrious
  • salutary
  • salutation
  • safe
  • save
  • salvo

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  9. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.