Etymograph

English

souse

Souse comes from Old French sous ‘preserved in salt’, from Frankish *sultija ‘saltwater, brine’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sultijō.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sultijō1‘saltwater, brine’reconstructed
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*sultija1‘saltwater, brine’reconstructed
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sous1‘preserved in salt’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500souse1‘to salt pickle’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1575souse1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English souse
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1575, George Gascoigne: “(Although I bee well soused in this showere,)”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sultijōWiktionary, English souse‘saltwater, brine’reconstructed
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*sultijaWiktionary, English souse‘saltwater, brine’reconstructed
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sousWiktionary, English souse‘preserved in salt’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500souseWiktionary, English souse‘to salt pickle’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1575souseWiktionary, English souse. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1575, George Gascoigne: “(Although I bee well soused in this showere,)”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *sultijō

Another origin of souse

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-‘integrate, whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s‘entire’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*soliðosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolidus‘dense, solid, not hollow’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sous
  6. Englishtodaysouse

Today it means

noun The pickled ears, feet, etc., of swine.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “souse”. 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-Germanic *sultijō / souse

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