A Salon Was a Room, Then a Gathering, Then a Hairdresser
A salon is a hairdressing business, a reception room, or an intellectual gathering. All three come from a large hall.
A salon is a hairdressing or beauty business, a large reception room, or a regular gathering of writers and thinkers. The order matters: Italian *salone* meant a large hall, French borrowed it for a drawing room, and then for the literary gatherings hosted in such rooms by eighteenth-century Parisian women, who shaped intellectual life without holding any office. Only later did commerce borrow the word's elegance for hairdressers. *Saloon* is the same word, taken earlier and worn down differently.
- A hairdressing business. *A hair salon.*
- A reception room. *The grand salon.*
- An intellectual gathering. *A literary salon.*
- Saloon — the same word. *A saloon.*
- Italian — *salone*, a large hall. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | salon | A salon. |
| Plural | salons | Salons. |
| Doublet | saloon | A saloon. |
| French | salon | A drawing room. |
| Italian | salone | A large hall. |
- She books the salon every month.Hairdressing.
- Her salon drew the leading writers.Gathering.
- Salone means a large hall.Etymology.
What a literary salon was
- A regular gathering in a private drawing room
- Hosted by a woman, who chose the guests and steered the talk
- Mixed writers, aristocrats and philosophers across social lines
- Shaped Enlightenment thought without any official standing
- The Paris Salon was separately the state art exhibition
French *salon*, from Italian *salone*, a large hall, an augmentative of *sala*, a hall, from a Germanic source.
Are salon and saloon the same word?
Yes. Both come from Italian salone, a large hall; saloon entered English earlier and developed separately.
What was a literary salon?
A regular gathering of writers and thinkers hosted in a private drawing room, usually by a woman who chose and directed the company.