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sardine

Etymology and origin of the English word sardine

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɑːˈdiːn/ (UK); /sɑɹˈdin/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sardin, borrowed from Middle French sardine,[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin sardīna, from sarda “a kind of fish”,[2][3][4][6] from Ancient Greek σαρδίνη (sardínē).[3][4] It is usually connected with Ancient Greek Σαρδώ (Sardṓ, “Sardinia”), near which the fish were caught,[2][3][4][6] but Klein doubts that the Greeks of Aristotle's time obtained fish from so far away.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small fish of the herring family, the pilchard or a young pilchard (1393 in Barnhart; c. 1430 in the OED).[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The phrase packed like sardines, “crowded tightly together”, is recorded from 1911,[7] and the verb “to pack closely” from 1895.[7] Sardines is also the name of a party game of hide-and-seek in which each seeker joins the hider when found (1924).[7] A separate sardine in Middle English named a precious stone mentioned in the Book of Revelation.[7]

Timeline

  • 1393 – the fish (Barnhart).[3]
  • c. 1430 – the fish (OED).[7]
  • 1895 – verb, to pack closely.[7]
  • 1911 – packed like sardines.[7]
  • 1924 – the game sardines.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of various small herrings or related fishes, especially the young European pilchard, often canned in oil.
  2. Any of various other small fishes, such as the anchovy, prepared in the same way.

Verb

  1. To pack tightly; to cram.
  • pilchard
  • sprat
  • anchovy

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Sardine.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/sardine. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·