What is the Latin word for salt?

The usual Latin words for “salt” are sāl, catus, pūrus; also salsus, mācerō, cārus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“salt” in Latin

sālsalt; wit; brine, salt water, the sea catusclever, intelligent, sagacious, clear-thinking; cunning, crafty, sly; shrill, sharp, clear-sounding pūrusclear, limpid; clean; pure salsussalty, briny; sharp, witty mācerōto soften, make tender by soaking or steeping; to weaken, waste away; to vex, torment, distress cārusdear, beloved; costly, expensive, valued salsāmentumbrine or pickle for fish; salted or pickled fish saliōto leap, jump, bound; to spring forth, flow down; to mount for sex

The English word salt itself goes back to Latin saltus.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

salt s.

PROP., sal. Common salt, sal popularis (Cato): rock salt, sal fossilis: sea salt, sal marinus: refined salt, sal candidus, purus: fine salt; i. e., beaten small, sal minute tritus: to turn to salt, in salem abire (Plin.): to eat bread and salt, salem cum pane essitare (Plin.; ☞ Hor., Sat., 2, 2, 17): to sprinkle salt over anything, sale conspergere aliquid (Col.), or rei salem aspergere (Plin.): a salt spring, *fons aquae salsae; *fons unde aquae salsae profluunt: a salt pit, salis fodina (Varr.); salifodina (Vitr.); salina (Cic., Caes.): a dealer in salt, salinator (Liv.): a grain of salt, grumus or mica salis (Plin.): the salt trade, negotium salarium; salis commercium (Liv.): a salt, warehouse, *horreum salis; *horreum salibus servandis. ☞ The plur., salia, salts, used by some moderns, is not found in any ancient writer.

Figuratively, sal: sales, plur.; e.g., Attici sales (Cic., Fam., 9, 15, 2): Attico lepore tincti sales (Mart., 3, 20, 29).

salt adj.

salsus. Salt fish, piscis sale conditus or maceratus: salt meat, caro sale condita; also, salsamenta, -orum (nominative plur.; salt meat or fish, an article of trade or commerce): a salt taste, sapor salis (Plin.); sapor salsus (Lucr.).

salt v.

salire: sale conspergere: salem aspergere alicui rei (to strew salt over): sale condire (to season or preserve with salt): sale macerare (to dissolve): sale indurare (to harden with salt). To salt thoroughly, sale obruere.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for salt?: The usual Latin words for “salt” are sāl, catus, pūrus; also salsus, mācerō, cārus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.