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*sḗh₂l1‘salt’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*saldō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsallō2‘to salt’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalsus3‘salted, briny’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salsārius3‘of or for salted things’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsalsārium3
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400saussier4‘saucer, sauce boat’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saucer4‘a small receptacle or bowl for storing sauce in’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1627saucer4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sallo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin salsus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French saussier
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English saucer
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1627, II. Century.: “Take two saucers , and strike the edge of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂lWiktionary, Latin sallo‘salt’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*saldōWiktionary, Latin salloreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsallōWiktionary, Latin salsus‘to salt’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalsusWiktionary, Old French saussier‘salted, briny’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500salsāriusWiktionary, Old French saussier‘of or for salted things’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsalsāriumWiktionary, Old French saussier
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400saussierWiktionary, English saucer‘saucer, sauce boat’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saucerWiktionary, English saucer‘a small receptacle or bowl for storing sauce in’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1627saucerWiktionary, English saucer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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, 31 more

through Latin salsus ‘salted, briny’

sausage, salsa, 4 more

Today it means

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

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “saucer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin sallo, Latin salsus, Old French saussier. 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 / saucer

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