Where does “ความเค็ม” come from?

ความเค็ม (Thai) comes from Thai ความ, from Proto-Tai ɣwaːmᴬ — matter.

Ancestry of “ความเค็ม”, step by step

ความเค็ม traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Thai ความ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Thaiความaffair; matter; content; essence; subject;...
2Proto-Taiɣwaːmᴬmatter

via Thai เค็ม

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Thaiเค็มsalty; salted
2Middle Chinese鹽—
Every word from Proto-Tai ɣwaːmᴬ →Every word from Thai ความ →