Sausage Is Named After Salt
A sausage is minced meat in a casing. The Latin behind it means salted, which is what made the meat keep.
A sausage is seasoned minced meat packed into a casing. The name records the preserving technique: Latin *salsus* means salted, and salting was the point long before refrigeration. The same root gives *sauce*, *salad* and *salary*, once money for salt.
- Minced meat in a casing. *Sausages and mash.*
- Sausage as a modifier. *Sausage roll.*
- Sausage dog — a dachshund. *A long-haired sausage dog.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | sausage | A pork sausage. |
| Plural | sausages | Six sausages. |
| Compound | sausage roll | A warm sausage roll. |
| Related | banger | Bangers and mash. |
| Related | charcuterie | A charcuterie board. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The sausages need turning.Cooking.
- Bangers and mash is a British staple.Banger is slang, from sausages bursting in the pan.
- Not a sausage.British slang for nothing at all.
Sausages around the world
- Cumberland — long, coiled, coarsely chopped, British
- Bratwurst — German, usually pork and veal
- Chorizo — Spanish, with paprika, cured or fresh
- Merguez — North African, lamb with harissa
- Black pudding — a blood sausage, common across Europe
From Old French *saussiche*, from Late Latin *salsicia*, from *salsus*, salted, from *sal*, salt. The salt family in English is unusually large.
Why are sausages called bangers?
From the First World War era, when sausages with a high water content burst noisily in the pan.
Are salary and sausage related?
Both descend from Latin *sal*, salt. Salary comes from an allowance connected with salt, though the details are debated.