Word Drift · History of Words
Where does the word "salary" come from?
"Salary" came into English in the late 1200s from Anglo-French salarie and Old French salaire, "wages, pay," from Latin salarium, "an allowance, a stipend." Salarium comes from sal, "salt," and is said to have first meant salt-money, a soldier's allowance for buying salt. That salt-money sense is the traditional explanation, not a proven one.
Source: “salary” in the Online Etymology Dictionary (Etymonline), read 2026-10-19.
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Questions
Is salary related to salt?
Yes, through Latin. Salarium is built on sal, "salt." Etymonline says it is "said to be" originally salt-money, so the soldier-salt story is traditional rather than certain.
When did "salary" enter English?
In the late 13th century, as salarie, meaning "compensation, payment."
When did salary come to mean a fixed periodic payment?
By the 1800s it had narrowed to pay stipulated to be paid periodically for services, usually a fixed sum.