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salt·cel·lar

(sôltsĕl′ər)

A small dish for holding and dispensing salt.

[Alteration of Middle English salt-saler : salt, salt; see SALT + saler, saltcellar (from Old French saliere, from Medieval Latin salāria, from Latin, feminine of salārius, of salt, from sāl, salt; see sal- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

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saltcellar

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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