salamoia

Forms

salamoia f (plural salamoie)^[1] Old and regional forms include Old Italian salamora, Old Italian salmoia and Old Italian salmòira.^[2][3] Old Umbrian had salamòglia.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *sal(a)mŏria, with a variant *salmūria, a compound of Latin sāl (“salt”) and muria (“brine, salt water”).^[4][5] DELI and Sabatini–Coletti start from Medieval Latin sallamoria, and Zingarelli, Treccani and Wiktionary from Late Latin salimuria and salemoria.^{[6][7][8][9][1]} Medieval Latin also had the verb salmorare “to salt” at Verona in 1319.^[2]

The same compound is French saumure, Catalan salmorra, Spanish salmuera and Portuguese salmoura.^[4][2][1] Romanian saramură is a borrowing from Venetian salamora: directly, according to Nocentini, or through Bulgarian, according to the DEI.^[4][2]

The origin of the second element is unclear.^[6][1][10] Nocentini suggests that it was taken from Ancient Greek ἁλμυρίς (halmurís, “saltiness, brine”), from ἅλμη (hálmē, “salt water”) and ἅλς (háls, “salt”).^[4][1] The Greek element ἁλ- (hal-) would then have been identified with the Latin word for “salt” and split off, so that the Late Latin compounds rebuilt the Greek word.^[4][1] The Latin word for “salt” goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l (“salt”), the source of the Greek word too.^[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to before 1320.^[12] DELI's first record is the Italian version of Pietro de' Crescenzi (c. 1350), which says eggs keep for a long time if laid in salt or in brine and then stored in bran or straw.^[6][3] The sense is a strong solution of salt in water for preserving food.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Brine was used to preserve fish, olives and cheese, in tanning hides, and in old medicine to clean wounds.^[3] The verb salamoiare “to put in brine” appears in a salt law of 1701.^[6] In the 19th century salamoia was also a name of sheep's sorrel.^[2]

Modern technical language uses the word for the brine that circulates in refrigerating plants and for the ammoniacal solution of the soda industry.^[12][5][9] In everyday speech it is used of food that is far too salty, and jokingly of the sea.^[12][5]

Timeline

• 1319 – Medieval Latin salmorare “to salt” is recorded at Verona.^[2]
• Before 1320 – Salamoia is first recorded.^[12]
• c. 1350 – The Italian version of Crescenzi uses the word.^[6]
• 1701 – Salamoiare appears in a salt law.^[6]
• 19th century – Salamoia is recorded as a name of sheep's sorrel.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. brine, pickle: a solution of salt in water for preparing or preserving food: peperoncini in salamoia.^{[12][5][7][1]}
2. (figurative) Food that is far too salty.^[12][5][13]
3. (humorous) The sea.^[12]
4. (technology) In refrigerating plants, a salt solution that does not freeze, cooled and circulated between the refrigerant and the things to be cooled.^{[12][5][7][8]}
5. (chemistry) The ammoniacal brine used in making sodium carbonate.^[12][9]

Word family

• salamoiare

Related words

• sale
• moia
• muria
• French saumure

Usage notes

In salamoia “in brine” is the usual phrase for preserved food.^[12][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3314
3. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17, 376
4. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli