sausage

Where does the word "sausage" come from? It comes from Latin salsicia, passing through Old French before entering English (medieval).

Sausage’s story begins in Latin: salsicia meant “salted meat.” Meaning "salted", describing preserved meat. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as saussiche. Carried the salted-meat product into French. It reached English by medieval as sausage. Settled as the English word for the food. Today, sausage means ground meat seasoned and stuffed into a casing.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient salsicia "salted meat", meaning "salted", describing preserved meat.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval saussiche "sausage", carried the salted-meat product into French.
3. Stage 3 · English · medieval sausage "ground, seasoned meat in a casing", settled as the English word for the food.