Salt
/sɔlt/noun
A white crystalline substance, sodium chloride, used for seasoning, preserving food, and in various industrial processes.
Did you know?In Paracelsian alchemy, salt was one of the tria prima (three primes), symbolizing the fixed, corporeal principle essential for transmuting matter and achieving spiritual crystallization.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sal-
“salt”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*saltą
“salt”
Old English
OE
sealt
“salt used for flavoring and preservation”
Middle English
ME
salt
“crystalline salt”
14th Century
Eng
salt
“common seasoning and preservative”
Modern English
Eng
salt
“sodium chloride”