• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

LSNED

Learn Something New Every Day

FACT: the word ‘salary’ comes from the history of salt

August 7, 2009 by Ryan 4 Comments

 

0026-salary-salt

It’s Friday, so some of you lucky kids get paid today. I thought you might like to know just where your salary comes from. The word, at least. The source seems to be the Latin ‘salarium’ (‘sal’ being salt) which is a word tied to the payments made to soldiers in the early Roman salt trade. In those days, salt (regular ordinary table salt) was a prized and valuable commodity. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “you are the salt of the earth” or “worth your salt”, both are referring to the high value of salt.

In ancient Rome, the production and transport of salt was serious business. Everybody needed salt, and sometimes the prices would be raised in order to pay for wars. (sounds sadly familiar) Roman soldiers were paid to guard the operations, or to expand and conquer new salt sources. Pliny the Elder wrote in his histories that these soldiers were actually paid directly in salt. While that did briefly make for a much more interesting factoid, it’s generally believed to be false now.  (I can’t help but wonder if soldiers would go out on a pay-day and buy some salt to put on the rim of a Caesar cocktail.)

So the exact details remain fuzzy, but the word has stuck. Still, salt was at the core of the economy for a time. It practically became a currency, as trade occured using the relative value in salt. (same idea as the “gold standard”)

So if your boss ever says he’s going to “garnish your wages”, ask for more salt.

  • Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salary

Filed Under: Interesting Facts Tagged With: history, words

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. MormonYoYoMan says

    August 27, 2009 at 7:04 am

    And I thought the word “salary” had to do with a crisp vegetable stalk which goes well with salt or peanut butter.

    Reply
  2. Gwyn says

    May 17, 2011 at 11:07 am

    I definately need more salt

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What is the UV index? The science behind the number. says:
    September 3, 2010 at 11:57 am

    […] days any weather report worth its salt will include the UV index number. I think we all understand the practicality of it. The higher the […]

    Reply
  2. Food Storage Without Electricity – Top 10 Foods to Stockpile says:
    April 15, 2015 at 9:41 am

    […] Unrefined salt has many trace minerals that are essential to health.  In my experience, the unrefined salts (Real Salt, grey sea salt, pink salt, etc.) have a “saltier” more robust flavor, meaning you can use less to achieve the same result.  Salt can also be used to preserve food (such as fermenting vegetables, above, and meats).  Since ancient times, salt has been also used as a valuable trade commodity. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Latest Facts

  • Happy Birthday to the US Navy
  • FACT: King John lost the crown jewels
  • An Istory of the Letter H
  • Singing Lightning: One Million Volts of Music
  • What Is The Edge Of The Solar System?

Get Updates by Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Copyright © 2019 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in