The History of Salad Here is the beginings of our research on salad. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=salad [Middle English salade, from Old French, possibly from Old Provençal salada, from Vulgar Latin *salta, from feminine past participle of *salre, to salt, from Latin sl, salt. See sal- in Indo-European Roots.] Word History: Salt was and is such an important ingredient in salad dressings that the very word salad is based on the Latin word for “salt.” Vulgar Latin had a verb *salre, “to salt,” from Latin sl, “salt,” and the past participial form of this verb, *salta, “having been salted,” came to mean “salad.” The Vulgar Latin word passed into languages descending from it, such as Portuguese (salada) and Old Provençal (salada). Old French may have borrowed its word salade from Old Provençal. Medieval Latin also carried on the Vulgar Latin word in the form salta. As in the case of so many culinary delights, the English borrowed the word and probably the dish from the French. The Middle English word salade, from Old French salade and Medieval Latin salta, is first recorded in a recipe book composed before 1399. ·Salt is of course an important ingredient of other foods and condiments besides salad dressings, as is evidenced by some other culinary word histories. The words sauce and salsa, borrowed into English from French and Spanish, respectively, both come ultimately from the Latin word salsus, meaning “salted.” Another derivative of this word was the Late Latin adjective salscius, “prepared by salting,” which eventually gave us the word sausage. This is a nice little piece on the origin of the word lettuce. Galaxy, Milky Way, Lettuce, and Lactose Why am I listing these words together? Because, interestingly enough, they all find their origins in the Greek word galaxias. Let me tell you a little story... Once upon a time, there was a Greek word, gala, meaning "milk." Gala (originally from the Indo-European glakt), had the genitive form of galaktos, which spawned the Late Latin words lac and galaxias. From lactis (the genitive of lac), we get the derivitive English words having to do with milk, such as lactose (milk sugar, 1858, lactis + the English suffix used for chemical terms, -ose); lactic (of or from sour milk, 1790, through the French lactique); lacteal (milky, 1658); and lactation (the act of suckling a baby or the secretion of milk, 1668 and 1857, from the French lactation, which is from the Latin lactare, to suckle, which is from - HELLO! - our Latin friend lactis). Would you like a salad with that glass of milk? Chances are your salad will have veggies in it of the genus lactuca, or lettuce, derived from the Latin lac because of the milky white juice found in many types of lettuce. Lactuca gives us the Old French laitues, which gives us the Middle English letuse, from which we get the present day lettuce. Getting back to the Late Latin galaxias, the step to galaxy is an obvious one, and was made because of the galaxy's milky appearance. Back then, Milky Way, originally via lactea, was a synonym for galaxy, rather than just the name of one. Galaxy was not used as a generic term for all star systems until the nineteenth century when astronomy caught up to the language. The earliest known use of Milky Way and galaxy are in the Chaucer poem The House of Fame, circa 1385. "Se yonder, loo, the Galaxie, Which men clepeth the Milky Wey, For hit is whit." (See yonder, lo, the galaxy, which men call the Milky Way, for it is white.). So the next time you're sitting on your roof with a salad and a glass of milk, reading poetry and watching the stars, I want you to think of me.   http://www.hellskitchen.com/inkwor4.htm [ Home ] [ Up ] Click E-mail the webmaster with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2000 Shamrock Hill Last modified: March 13, 2003       TOP