Etymograph

English

saucer

Saucer comes from Middle English saucer ‘a small receptacle or bowl for storing sauce in’, from Medieval Latin salsārius ‘of or for salted things’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l ‘salt’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂l‘salt’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*saldōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsallō‘to salt’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalsus‘salted, briny’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salsārius‘of or for salted things’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsalsārium
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400saussier‘saucer, sauce boat’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saucer‘a small receptacle or bowl for storing sauce in’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1627same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂l‘salt’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*saldōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsallō‘to salt’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalsus‘salted, briny’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salsārius‘of or for salted things’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsalsārium
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400saussier‘saucer, sauce boat’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saucer‘a small receptacle or bowl for storing sauce in’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1627same form

Earliest quotation: 1627, II. Century.: “Take two saucers , and strike the edge of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l ‘salt’

salt, salary, salad, cellar, sal, saline, halogen, salami, salina, 32 more

through Latin salsus ‘salted, briny’

sausage, salsa, 5 more

Today it means

noun A small shallow dish to hold a cup and catch drips.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l / saucer

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