salt English · revision 4329

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=ine-pro *sal-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɔːlt/, /sɒlt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|salt]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|sealt]], salt,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*saltą|alt=*saltan]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) also the source of Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old Frisian and Gothic salt, Dutch zout and German Salz.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The root is [[ine-pro|*sal-|t=salt]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) which also gave [[m|la|sāl|t=salt]], Greek háls “salt, sea”, Old Irish salann, Welsh halen, Latvian sāls, Old Church Slavonic solĭ, Armenian al and Tocharian A sāle.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The verb is from Old English sealtan, and the adjective from Old English sealt.^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Table salt, sodium chloride: about 1000 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and implied before 830 in salt-nisse “saltness”, according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective, of salt water, is from before 900.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the early 14th century the word was applied to other substances that resemble common salt;^(Etymonline) in old chemistry a solid, non-flammable substance with a taste, from the 14th century.^(Hoad 1986) In alchemy salt was one of the ultimate elements, from the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and the modern chemical sense, a compound of an acid with a base, is from 1790.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) As a symbol of hospitality, and as the necessary adjunct to food, it is from 1382,^(OED 1989) and ''with a grain of salt'', translating Latin cum grano salis, from 1647.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense of what gives piquancy to speech or writing is from the 1570s.^(Etymonline) ''The salt of the earth'' comes from St Matthew's Gospel,^(Cresswell 2021) and ''to sit below the salt'', to be of lower rank, from the early 17th century, recalls long dining tables where the salt cellar marked off the more honoured guests.^(Cresswell 2021) An experienced sailor, an old salt, is from 1840, in Dana.^(Etymonline) ''Saltcellar'' is from 1390,^(Barnhart 1988) its second part being originally saler “salt box”, from Latin salarium, later replaced by the familiar cellar.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 830 – implied in salt-nisse.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 900 – adjective, of water.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – common salt.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1382 – a symbol of hospitality.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1390 – ''saltcellar''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570s – piquancy, wit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1647 – ''with a grain of salt''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1790 – a chemical salt.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1840 – an old sailor.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A white crystalline substance, chiefly [[sodium chloride]], used to season and preserve food.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' A compound formed when the [[hydrogen]] of an [[acid]] is replaced by a metal or other positive radical.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''salts'': a mineral salt used as a medicine, or [[smelling salts]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something that adds liveliness or [[wit]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' An experienced sailor.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Containing or tasting of salt; [[salty]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Preserved in salt: ''salt cod''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Flooded with sea water: ''a salt marsh''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To season or sprinkle with salt.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To cure or preserve with salt.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To add zest to: ''salted his speech with jokes''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To make (a mine) seem richer by fraudulently placing valuable minerals in it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[salter]]

+ * [[saltness]]

+ * [[desalt]]

+ * [[oversalt]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[salary]]

+ * [[salad]]

+ * [[sauce]]

+ * [[saline]]

+ * [[salami]]

+ * [[saltpetre]]

+ * [[saltcellar]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate salt, from French à saut “to leaping”, from Latin saltus “leap”, meant a female animal's sexual heat, from 1519.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) SALT, from 1968, is an acronym for the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the United States and the Soviet Union.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}