Etymologically
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saluer

Etymology and origin of the French word saluer

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion of Clermont (saluder)
Inherited from
Latin saluto via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (salūs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sa.lɥe/[1]

Forms

saluer[1] Old French saluder (late 10th century); saluer from the 11th century.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French saluer, inherited from Latin salūtō (“to greet; to pay one's respects; to visit”),[2][4][5][3][6][1] properly “to wish someone health (salus)”, for example when he sneezes; it is derived from salūs (“health, safety”) (see salut).[4][5][7]

Cognate with Italian salutare, Old Occitan saludar, Spanish saludar and Portuguese saudar.[4][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) has saluder cum “to hail as”; in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it means to honour someone with an outward mark of respect: S'il saluerent par amur e par bien, “they greeted him with love and goodwill”.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Benoît de Sainte-Maure (about 1175) uses it for sending one's greetings through someone else, and Robert Estienne (1538) for complimenting by letter; the reciprocal se saluer is in Herberay des Essarts's Amadis (1540).[2] From 1547 (Noël du Fail) one salutes inanimate things, and Balzac (1839) has saluer quelque chose par “to greet an event with approval”.[2]

The military salute is recorded in 1609, saluer la mer by the Académie (1694), and the naval salute with sails or flag in 1832.[2][3] The Académie (1835) records its use as a polite formula at the end of a letter, and actors take their bow, saluer le public, from 1866.[2][3]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Saluder, Passion of Clermont.[2]
  • c. 1100 – “To greet”, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1175 – “To send greetings”, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[2]
  • 1540 – Se saluer.[2]
  • 1609 – The military salute.[2]
  • 1835 – At the end of a letter.[2]
  • 1866 – Actors saluer le public.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To greet: saluer quelqu'un d'un geste, de la voix, ils se sont salués.[7][1]
  2. To say goodbye to, je vous salue, a formula of leave-taking.[1][3]
  3. (military, nautical) To salute.[1][2]
  4. To hail, acclaim; to pay tribute to.[1][2]
  5. Of a performer, to bow to the audience.[7][2]

Word family

  • saluade
  • salueur
  • salut
  • salutation
  • Latin salūtō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 126b
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Saluer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/saluer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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