salmo

Forms

salmō m (genitive salmōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^[2][1] It is possibly from a Celtic or Gaulish word,^[1][3] and Walde treats it, like salar “trout”, as Celtic.^[4] The common derivation from saliō¹ (“to leap”), as the “leaper”, has been dismissed as folk etymology,^[1] though Etymonline still calls it probable^[3] and Köbler connects it, with a query, to Proto-Indo-European *sel- (“to jump”).^[5] An equation with Proto-Slavic *sòmъ (“catfish”) has not been well received.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder is the first to name the salmon.^[2][6][5]

Semantic evolution

Ausonius uses it in the Mosella.^[6][7] In medieval Latin it remained the name of the salmon:^[8] Alcuin writes of catching salmon in the Loire, and the Domesday Book records fisheries that paid rents in salmon.^[8] French saumon and English salmon come from it through Old French,^[3] and Italian salmone continues it.^[9]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder names the salmon.^[2][6][5]
• c. 310–394 AD – Ausonius uses it in the Mosella.^[6][7][5]
• 798 – Alcuin writes of catching salmon in the Loire.^[8]
• early 13th century – English borrows the word, through Anglo-French, as samoun.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A salmon.^[2][6][8]

Related words

• English salmon

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Walde, Alois (1906), Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier