Etymologically
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salsa

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Forms

salsa f (genitive salsae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin salsus (“salted”), its feminine used as a noun, and goes back to sāl (“salt”).[2] The Breviloquus already explained the form ⟨salcia⟩ as coming from salsus.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A medieval poem quoted by Du Cange lists sage, thyme, pepper, garlic, salt and parsley as what a good salsa is made of.[3] The first dated record is an account of 1324 that names spices and salsa.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word meant a salted broth or sauce,[2][3] then the seasonings used for sauces, such as pepper and mustard.[3] Niermeyer records it for a salt marsh,[1] and in a letter of Henry VIII of 1530 it means salted meat.[3]

It continues in French as sauce.[2]

Timeline

  • 1324 – An account names spices and salsa among supplies.[3]
  • 1530 – A letter of Henry VIII uses it for salted meat.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) Sauce, salted broth.[2][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Seasonings for sauces.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A salt marsh.[1][2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Salted meat.[3]

Usage notes

The DMLBS also has a salsa “willow, osier” from Anglo-Norman sauz, found in English records of the 1270s and 1280s.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  4. ^ 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