Were Roman Soldiers Really Paid in Salt?
A salary is fixed regular pay. The word comes from the Latin salarium, connected with salt, though the popular version of the story is too simple.
A salary is fixed pay, usually monthly, for a job. Everyone repeats that Roman soldiers were paid in salt, and the word does come from Latin *salarium*, built on *sal*, salt. But the ancient sources are thin: an allowance connected with salt is likely, payment handed over in salt is not. The idiom *worth his salt* keeps the belief alive anyway.
- Fixed regular pay. *A starting salary.*
- Salaried — paid a salary rather than wages. *Salaried staff.*
- Compared with wages — wages are usually hourly. *Wages are paid weekly.*
- Salary cap — a limit on total pay. *A league salary cap.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | salary | A modest salary. |
| Plural | salaries | Senior salaries. |
| Adjective | salaried | Salaried employees. |
| Latin root | salarium | Salt money. |
| Related | wage | An hourly wage. |
- Her salary is paid on the last working day.Standard use.
- He moved from wages to a salaried post.The contrast.
- He is not worth his salt.The idiom behind the myth.
Salary or wage?
- Salary — a fixed annual sum, paid in equal instalments
- Wage — usually calculated by the hour or the day
- Overtime — normally applies to wages, rarely to salaries
- Fee — paid for a task, not for time
- Stipend — a modest fixed allowance, often for study
Latin *salarium*, from *sal*, salt, through Anglo-French *salarie*. Roman writers link the payment to salt, but exactly how is uncertain, and modern historians treat the salt-as-wages story with caution.
Does salary literally mean salt money?
The Latin word is built on salt, yes. Whether soldiers ever received salt instead of coin is much less certain than the popular story suggests.
What is the difference between salary and wage?
A salary is a fixed annual amount split into regular payments. A wage is usually calculated from hours or days worked.