Etymograph

English

salami

Salami comes from Italian salame, from sale ‘salt’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂l1‘salt’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sāls1‘salt’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsal2‘salt’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentsale2‘salt’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentsalame2
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentsalami2plural of salame
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2001salami2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sal
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English salami
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, Bob Drews, Sandman: “To this day Katie thought wistfully of the night…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂lWiktionary, Latin sal‘salt’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sālsWiktionary, Latin sal‘salt’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalWiktionary, English salami‘salt’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentsaleWiktionary, English salami‘salt’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentsalameWiktionary, English salami
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentsalamiWiktionary, English salamiplural of salame
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2001salamiWiktionary, English salami. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, Bob Drews, Sandman: “To this day Katie thought wistfully of the night…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l ‘salt’

salt, salsa, saucer, halogen, 30 more

through Latin sal ‘salt’

sauce, salary, sausage, cellar, salad, saline, sal, salina, 13 more

Today it means

noun A large cured meat sausage of Italian origin, served in slices.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “salami”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sal. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l / salami

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