salary (English)

Where does "salary" come from?

The English adjective 'salary' traces its lineage through Middle English 'salarie'[1], Anglo-Norman 'salarie', and Old French 'salaire'[2], all stemming from the Latin noun 'salārium' meaning 'wages'[1]. This Latin term originated as the neuter form of 'salārius', an adjective meaning 'related to salt' that was derived from 'sal' meaning 'salt'[1][4]. The ancient root 'sal' itself traces back through Proto-Italic '*sāls' to the Proto-Indo-European form '*séh₂ls'[5]. While the connection between salt and wages is ancient, theories suggesting the term originally meant 'salt money' or denoted soldier payments in actual salt lack direct support from surviving ancient sources[1].

Open questions

The assumption that salarium originated as an abbreviation for an unattested phrase meaning salt money lacks concrete evidence in ancient sources. [1]
The long a in the Latin nominative singular sal compared to short a in oblique forms may reflect an archaic ablaut pattern. [5]

Full etymology tree

salary (English), 'Saline.'
- inherited salarie (Middle English)
  - inherited salarie (Anglo-Norman)
    - inherited salaire (Old French), 'salary (fixed amount of money paid to a worker per month, per year, etc.)'
      - semi-learned borrowing salarium (Latin), 'a salary, stipend, allowance, pension'
        derived salarius (Latin), 'Of or pertaining to salt.'
        derived sal (Latin), 'salt'
        inherited *sāls (Proto-Italic), 'salt'
        inherited *séh₂ls (Proto-Indo-European), 'salt'
        suffix -arius (Latin), 'Used to form adjectives from nouns or numerals.'

Ancestors

salaire (Old French)
salarium (Latin)

Sources

Updated August 2026

More words starting with S

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris