Saucer
/ˈsɔː.sər/noun
A small, shallow dish placed beneath a cup or used for holding small amounts of food or liquid.
Did you know?Saucer ultimately comes from Latin salsa, meaning “salted thing,” linking it unexpectedly to words such as salary, salad, and sausage.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*séh₂ls
“Salt”
Classical Latin
Latin
salsus
“Salted or seasoned with salt”
Medieval Latin
Latin
salsa
“A salted or seasoned food; sauce”
13th Century
Old French
sauciere
“A vessel for holding sauce”
14th Century
Middle English
sawcer
“A small dish for sauce”
Modern English
English
saucer
“A shallow dish, especially one placed beneath a cup”