Sauces

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Thick or thin mixtures that are created to improve the taste, moisture, and texture of various culinary dishes
2. Flavor-enhancing liquids or pastes made from a combination of ingredients, often used in cooking and serving food
3. Condiments that are liquid or semi-liquid and used to add flavor or moisture to dishes

Etymology: "Sauces" is the plural of "sauce," and it is also the third-person singular present form of the verb "to sauce," meaning to add sauce to something. The noun traces back to Latin "sal," meaning salt. Its Latin descendant "salsus" meant "salted," and from it Vulgar Latin formed "salsa," a feminine noun meaning something salted or seasoned, which passed into Old French as "sause" and then into Middle English as "sauce." The surprise is that the word's root is salt, not a sense of flavor in general. The Latin verb "saliere" meant "to salt," and "salsa" carried that idea of salting into the food itself. English "salsa," borrowed much later from Spanish, is a doublet of "sauce," meaning the two words descend from the same Latin source by separate routes.

Synonyms: condiments, dips