salina

Forms

salina f (plural saline)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *salīna, from Latin salīnae (“saltworks”), a noun found in classical Latin only in the plural.^[2][3][4] The Latin word is the feminine of the adjective salīnus, formed from sal (“salt”) with the suffix -īnus.^[5][6][4][1]

The same word is Friulian saline, Old Occitan salina, Catalan salina and Spanish salina.^[7] French saline has been in French since the 15th century.^[8]

The sense “fine table salt” is explained differently by several dictionaries: GRADIT, Devoto–Oli, Treccani and the GDLI derive it separately, as a diminutive formed from sale with the suffix -ina.^{[9][3][10][11]}

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI dates the word to 13th-century Florentine texts, in the sense “unrefined salt”.^[8] GRADIT and Zingarelli date the sense “fine table salt” to 1310 and the sense “saltworks” to before 1348.^[9][6]

Semantic evolution

As the name of a kind of salt the word appears in the verse of Cecco Angiolieri, who says that something looks like sugar and is salina, and in Messisburgo and Romoli, who season food with salina bianca, white salt.^[11] That sense is now obsolete, or regional in Tuscany and elsewhere.^[9][10][12]

As the place where salt is made, the word appears in 14th-century chronicles quoted by Tommaseo–Bellini, which mention the saline between Chioggia and Padua and those of Cervia.^[13] Its use grew with the trade: DEI records salinaro in 1561, salinatore in 1701, and salinaggio, the process of extracting salt, in the 19th century.^[8] In geology it came to name natural salt deposits left by evaporating water, and in some regions, Sicily and Tuscany among them, a mud volcano.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 13th century – Florentine texts use the word for unrefined salt.^[8]
• 1310 – The sense “fine table salt” is recorded.^[9][6]
• Before 1348 – The sense “saltworks” is recorded.^[9][6]
• 1561 – Salinaro is recorded in Citolini.^[8]
• 1701 – Salinatore is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A saltworks or salt pan: a coastal plant of shallow basins where seawater stands and evaporates, leaving its salt.^{[9][3][5][10]}
2. (geology) A natural deposit of various salts formed in lagoons, coastal lakes or low-lying ground when sea or inland water evaporates.^[9][3][10]
3. (uncommon) A rock salt mine (salgemma).^[9][3][5]
4. (regional) A mud volcano (Italian salsa).^[9][3][10]
5. (obsolete or regional) Fine table salt.^{[9][3][10][12]}

Word family

• salinaio
• salinare
• salinella
• saliniere

Related words

• sale
• salino
• Latin sal

Usage notes

In the sense “saltworks” the word is often plural, le saline.^[14] Salina is also the name of an island off Sicily and a surname, both from this word.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 384
5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3318
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e f g Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17, 405
12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana