saltcellar: [15] Saltcellar is a tautology – for etymologically it means ‘saltcellar for salt’. Its second element has no connection with underground rooms. Its spelling merely disguises its origins, which are in Anglo- Norman *saler ‘saltcellar’, a derivative ultimately of Latin sāl ‘salt’. This was adopted into English in the 14th century as saler, later seler, but when its etymological links with salt began to fade from people’s awareness, salt was tacked on to the front to reinforce the meaning, and when they disappeared altogether in the 16th century the spelling became assimilated to that of the similar-sounding cellar.
雙語(yǔ)例句
1. Don't leave the aluminium spoon in the saltcellar. It will be eaten into by salt.