詞源探究：salary一詞竟然來(lái)源于salt

每月發(fā)工資的時(shí)候都是大家最開(kāi)心的時(shí)候，領(lǐng)到工資以后，不少人又可以網(wǎng)購(gòu)血拼、還信用卡、刷信用卡了。不過(guò)，你知道英語(yǔ)中“工資”一詞salary是怎么來(lái)的嗎？

Receiving a salary may seem sweet, but the word originates with a different flavor.

領(lǐng)到薪水或許是件挺開(kāi)心的事情，不過(guò)薪水（salary）這個(gè)詞的來(lái)源卻另有故事。

In ancient times, because salt wasn't always easy to come by (and because it was a leading way to improve flavor even back then), Roman soldiers were given a sum of money – a salarium – with which to purchase salt.

在古時(shí)候，鹽不是那么容易得到的東西（而且那時(shí)候用鹽調(diào)味也是一種超前的生活方式），羅馬士兵會(huì)領(lǐng)到一筆錢(qián)（salarium）專(zhuān)門(mén)用來(lái)買(mǎi)鹽。

Over time, salarium (from the Latin salarius, 'of salt') came to refer simply to money paid the soldiers, and then to monies paid to any official of the Roman Empire, and eventually to wages in general.

慢慢的，salarium（源于拉丁語(yǔ)salarius，指“鹽的”）一詞逐漸用來(lái)指代發(fā)給士兵的軍餉以及發(fā)給羅馬帝國(guó)所有官員的錢(qián)資，直至后來(lái)，用來(lái)統(tǒng)指“薪水、薪資”。

（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Helen）