Salt

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /sɒlt/

Definitions

1. A white crystalline substance used to season and preserve food, composed primarily of sodium chloride
2. A common mineral used to enhance the taste of food or to extend its shelf life ; a chemical made up of sodium and chlorine elements ; to apply salt to food for flavor or preservation
3. A crystalline substance often sprinkled on dishes to amplify flavor or aid in preservation ; a compound consisting of sodium ions and chloride ions ; to treat food by sprinkling or curing with salt

Etymology: The word "salt" is one of the oldest in English, and its roots reach back to a Proto-Indo-European word of the same meaning, *sḗh₂l. Its Old English form was "sealt", and it is cognate with German "Salz", Dutch "zout" and Swedish "salt", so the word has been part of the Germanic languages for a very long time. Old English "sealt" also appears in the wider family of Germanic languages, which is why the word feels so at home in English today. The Latin word "sāl" also meant salt, and it gave English a set of relatives: "sal", "salary" and "salsa" all descend from it. Latin "sāl" never displaced the native word in English, although it did become the everyday term in some other European languages. English kept its own word as the general term for the seasoning mineral, and the Latin cousins survive in more specialized or borrowed uses.

Synonyms: sodium chloride, brine

Antonyms: sweet, sugar