Salines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A solution containing salt used in medical treatments or laboratories
2. Referring to various mixtures of salt and water employed for therapeutic or maintenance purposes
3. A liquid composed primarily of sodium chloride dissolved in water, often used for hydration or cleansing wounds

Etymology: "Salines" is simply the plural of "saline", so its history is that of the singular. The adjective "saline" meaning salty or containing salt is the older sense, and the noun for a salt solution is a later development of the same word. English took it from Middle English "salyne", which came from Medieval Latin "salīna" and Middle French "salin". Both trace back to Latin "sal", meaning salt, the same root that gives English words like "salad" and "salary" through other routes. The Latin "salīna" meant a salt-pit or salt-works, a place where salt was extracted, and its link to "sal" is direct: the word names the place by its product. Over centuries the adjective spread to describe anything containing salt, from seawater to body fluids. The noun sense, a salt solution used in medicine and laboratories, grew naturally from that adjective and is much more recent in common use.