Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sauce” come from?

Sauce comes from Middle English sauce, from Old French sauce, from Latin salsus meaning salted, derived from salio meaning to salt, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root ser- meaning to flow or run.

sauce (English): A liquid condiment or accompaniment to food;...

Definitions

  1. A liquid condiment or accompaniment to food;...

Ancestry of “sauce”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsauceA sauce or gravy; a liquid condiment; A solution...
2Old Frenchsause—
3Vulgar Latinsalsanominative feminine singular of salsus;...
4Latinsalsussalty, briny; salted; witty
5Latinsāl—
6Proto-Italicsāls—
7Proto-Indo-European*sḗh₂l—

Words derived from “sauce”

  • saucepan
  • saucy
  • sassy
  • applesauce
  • saucily
  • sass
  • sauciness
  • sauceboat
  • saucier
  • sassiness
  • saucepot
  • sassily
  • saucebox
  • saucelike
  • saucepanful
  • sauceless
  • oversauce
  • dopesauce
  • crazysauce
  • lamesauce
  • awesome sauce
  • -sauce
  • weaksauce
  • saucepanlike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l →