salt

/sɒlt/

salt

English Noun Top 2,641
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Definition

A common substance, chemically consisting mainly of sodium chloride (NaCl), used extensively as a food ingredient, seasoning, condiment, and preservative.

Etymology

PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salt, from Old English sealt, from Proto-West Germanic *salt, from Proto-Germanic *saltą, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₂ls (“salt”). Doublet of sal, salary, and salsa, all ultimately from Latin sāl (“salt”), which it superseded as the general term for "salt".

Example Sentences

  • "Near-synonyms: table salt, rock salt, road salt"
  • "Take gode almaunde mylke y-draw wyth wyn, an let hem boyle to-gederys, an caste þer-to Safroun an Salt; […]"
  • "Common salt, chloride of sodium, appears to be essential to the life of the higher animals."
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