"salty" in seven languages
Meaningsalty
Spanish
salado
/saˈlado/
inherited
Also 'witty, charming' in Spain.
French
salé
/sale/
inherited
Italian
salato
/saˈlato/
inherited
Also 'expensive': un conto salato.
Portuguese
salgado
/sawˈɡadu/
inherited
From salgar 'to salt', Latin *SALICĀRE; also a savoury snack.
Romanian
sărat
/səˈrat/
inherited
Catalan
salat
/səˈlat/
inherited
English
salty
/ˈsɔlti/
Indo-European kin · PIE *seh₂l- 'salt'
English → ItaliansaltysalatoDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: saline, salary, salad, sauce.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
*SALĀTUM (from SAL 'salt')‘salted’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Each sister's 'salted' shows its habits: Spanish voices the t (salado), French drops it (salé), Italian keeps it (salato), and Romanian turns the l into r (sărat, as in sare 'salt'). English salt is the Germanic cousin of SAL.
English relatives: saline, salary, salad, sauce
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esLa sopa está demasiado salada.
- frLa soupe est trop salée.
- itLa minestra è troppo salata.
- ptA sopa está salgada demais.
- roSupa e prea sărată.
- caLa sopa és massa salada.
- enThe soup is too salty.