Where does “sassiness” come from?

sassiness (English) comes from English sassy, from English sass, from English sauce, from Middle English sauce, from Old French sause, from Vulgar Latin salsa, from Latin salsus, from Latin sāl — salt.

sassiness (English): The quality of being sassy

Definitions

  1. The quality of being sassy

Ancestry of “sassiness”, step by step

sassiness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English sassy

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsassyBold and spirited, cheeky, impudent, saucy;...
2EnglishsassBacktalk, cheek, sarcasm; Vegetables used in...
3EnglishsauceA liquid condiment or accompaniment to food;...
4Middle EnglishsauceA sauce or gravy; a liquid condiment; A solution...
5Old Frenchsausesauce (condiment)
6Vulgar Latinsalsanominative feminine singular of salsus;...
7Latinsalsussalty, briny; salted; witty
8Latinsālsalt
9Proto-Italicsālssalt
10Proto-Indo-European*sḗh₂lsalt

via English Ness

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNessAn Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa
2Middle Englishnesse
3Old Englishnæsnot, not at all; not; first/third-person singular...
4Proto-Germanicnasjąfoothill; headland; cape
5Proto-Indo-Europeannéh₂snose
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂lEvery word from Proto-Italic sālsEvery word from Latin sāl