Sausage

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsɒsɪd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. A cylindrical food made from finely chopped meat mixed with spices and seasonings, typically encased in a thin membrane or casing
2. A type of food product consisting of ground or chopped meat combined with various seasonings and usually encased in a natural or artificial casing
3. This edible item is prepared from ground meat along with spices, often cylindrical in shape and enclosed within a casing

Etymology: The most striking thing about "sausage" is its root meaning: it comes from Late Latin "salsīcia," the feminine form of "salsīcius," meaning "seasoned with salt." The word is built on "salsus" ("salted"), which comes from "sal" ("salt"). The name described the process, not the meat: salting was how such food was preserved and flavoured. The word reached English through Anglo-Norman "sausiche," which was adapted in late Middle English as "sawsiche." Its closest relatives are in the Romance languages: Italian "salsiccia," Spanish "salchicha," and Sicilian "sausizza." French "saucisse" is a doublet, a second form of the same word that entered French separately. Before "sausage" took hold in English, the native Old English word "mearh" was in use for this kind of food. The Latin-derived term displaced it, so the English word for sausage is a borrowing that replaced an older native one.

Synonyms: link, banger, wurst, frankfurter