sel (French)
Where does "sel" come from?
French 'sel' is inherited from Middle French 'sel', which came from Old French 'sel'[3][4]. The Old French form goes back to Latin 'salem', and the Latin word 'sal' is traced to Proto-Italic 'sāls' and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European '*seh₂l-'[1][2][5]. In modern French, 'sel' covers table salt, salt in general, smelling salts, and spice[1].
Open questions
- The Latin 'sal' shows a long vowel in the nominative and a short vowel in the oblique forms, which may reflect an archaic ablaut pattern, but this interpretation is not settled. [2]
- The Proto-Indo-European root '*seh₂l-' and the Proto-Italic form 'sāls' are reconstructions inferred from comparative evidence rather than directly attested texts. [1] [5]
Full etymology tree
- sel (French), 'table salt, i.e. sodium chloride (NaCl)'
- inherited sel (Middle French), 'salt'
- inherited sel (Old French), 'salt'
- inherited salem (Latin), 'accusative singular of sāl'
- inherited *séh₂ls (Proto-Indo-European), 'salt'
- inherited salem (Latin), 'accusative singular of sāl'
- inherited sel (Old French), 'salt'
- inherited sel (Middle French), 'salt'
Ancestors
- sel (Middle French)
- sel (Old French)
- sal (Latin)
- *séh₂ls (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- cuillère à sel (French)
- fin comme du gros sel (French)
- fleur de sel (French)
- mettre son grain de sel (French)
- ne pas manquer de sel (French)
- pâte à sel (French)
- poivre et sel (French)
- ramener son grain de sel (French)
- sel de cuisine (French)
- sel de table (French)
Sources
- sel (French) - Wiktionary
- sal (Latin) - Wiktionary
- sel (Middle French) - Wiktionary
- sel (Old French) - Wiktionary
- sāls (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris