salt
pronunciation
How to pronounce salt in British English:
UK [sɔːlt]
How to pronounce salt in American English:
US [sɔːlt]
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- Noun:
- a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
- white crystalline form of especially sodium chloride used to season and preserve food
- the taste experience when salt is taken into the mouth
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- Verb:
- add salt to
- sprinkle as if with salt
- add zest or liveliness to
- preserve with salt
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- Adjective:
- containing or filled with salt
- of speech that is painful or bitter
- one of the four basic taste sensations; like the taste of sea water
Word Origin
- salt
- salt: [OE] Salt was a key element in the diet of our Indo-European ancestors, and their word for it, *sal-, is the source of virtually all the modern European terms, including Russian sol’, Polish sól, Serbo-Croat so, Irish salann, and Welsh halen. Greek háls has given English halogen [19]. And Latin sāl, besides evolving into French sel, Italian sale, Spanish sal, and Romanian sare, has contributed an enormous range of vocabulary to English, including salad, salary, saline [15], salsa, sauce, saucer, and sausage.Its Germanic descendant was *salt-, which has produced Swedish, Danish, and English salt and Dutch zout, and also lies behind English silt and souse.=> halogen, salad, salary, saline, salsa, sauce, saucer, sausage, silt, souse
- SALT (n.)
- Cold War U.S.-U.S.S.R. nuclear weapons negotiations, 1968, acronym for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (which would make SALT talks redundant, but the last element sometimes also is understood as treaty).
- salt (n.)
- Old English sealt "salt" (n.; also as an adjective, "salty, briny"), from Proto-Germanic *saltom (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old Frisian, Gothic salt, Dutch zout, German Salz), from PIE *sal- (1) "salt" (cognates: Greek hals "salt, sea," Latin sal, Old Church Slavonic soli, Old Irish salann, Welsh halen "salt"). Modern chemistry sense is from 1790. Meaning "experienced sailor" is first attested 1840, in reference to the salinity of the sea. Salt was long regarded as having power to repel spiritual and magical evil. Many metaphoric uses reflect that this was once a rare and important resource, such as worth one's salt (1830), salt of the earth (Old English, after Matt. v:13). Belief that spilling salt brings bad luck is attested from 16c. To be above (or below) the salt (1590s) refers to customs of seating at a long table according to rank or honor, and placing a large salt-cellar in the middle of the dining table. Salt-lick first recorded 1751; salt-marsh is Old English sealtne mersc; salt-shaker is from 1882. Salt-and-pepper "of dark and light color" first recorded 1915. To take something with a grain of salt is from 1640s, from Modern Latin cum grano salis.
- salt (v.)
- Old English sealtan, from Proto-Germanic *salto- (see salt (n.)), and in part from the noun. Related: Salted; salting.
Synonym
Example
- 1. Cutting back on salt will also make a difference .
- 2. People with high blood pressure are often told to watch the salt .
- 3. So , a grain of salt would be wise .
- 4. Middling without salt was the main ingredient for white lightning .
- 5. Demand for industrial salt is steady and predictable .