Etymologically
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salut

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sa.ly/[1]

Forms

salut m (plural saluts)[1] Old French salu, feminine, until the 13th century; the spelling salut, after the Latin, appears in the 13th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French salut, inherited from Latin salūs (“health; safety; greeting”), from the accusative “salūtem”.[4][5][2][1] The Latin word meant the state of being whole and sound, safety, life as opposed to death; it was personified in the goddess Salus and used in greetings (“salūtem dīcere”), and Christian Latin gave it the sense “salvation”.[5][2] It is derived from salvus (“whole, safe”) (see sauf).[5]

The Latin noun was feminine, and Old French “salu” was too in the senses “safety” and “salvation”; but from the “Chanson de Roland” the word was masculine in the sense “greeting”, felt as a noun formed on saluer, and the masculine then won in all senses.[2][3]

Cognate with Italian salute and Spanish salud.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 980 in the Sermon on Jonah, in the religious sense “salvation”, being saved from the state of sin.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) uses it for a mark of civility to someone met or left, and about 1140 it was a wish for someone's prosperity; as an exclamation of greeting it is in Beaumanoir (1283).[4][5] From the 12th century it also meant escaping death or danger (Wace, 1160–1174).[4]

Faire son salut is in Pascal (1656–1657); le salut public is recorded in 1789 and the Comité de salut public in 1793; the revolutionary formula salut et fraternité dates from 1798, and the Armée du Salut from 1885.[4] Naval salutes are mentioned in 1670.[4] In modern familiar speech salut ! is used both for “hi” and for “bye”.[1][6]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – “Salvation” in the Sermon on Jonah.[4]
  • c. 1100 – A greeting, in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • 1160–1174 – Escape from danger, in Wace.[4]
  • 1283 – An exclamation of greeting, in Beaumanoir.[4]
  • 1656–1657 – Faire son salut in Pascal.[4]
  • 1793 – Comité de salut public.[4]
  • 1885 – Armée du Salut in Daudet.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Safety, rescue: chercher son salut dans la fuite, planche de salut.[6]
  2. (religion) salvation: le salut de l'âme.[4][6]
  3. A greeting, a gesture of respect: un salut de la main; a military salute.[4][6]
  4. Salut public: the safety of the state.[4][6]

Interjection

  1. (familiar) Hi!; bye![1][6]
  2. (formal) Hail: salut à toi.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert