*SET-U

CANONICAL LANGUAGE GRAPH

TRACE A WORD ↗
NODE / 0522attestedOld English

sealt

salt, sodium chloride, condiment, or preservative

DATE
Old English
SENSE
common salt
FAMILY
Indo-European / West Germanic
CANONICAL KEY
node:3:sealt:attested:sense:common-salt
01

ANCESTRAL EDGES

ROOT OF THIS ROOT

1
GO DEEPERinheritanceprobable
Proto-Germanic · Proto-Germanic prehistory · common salt

*saltom

salt

SOUND
Old English sealt regularly continues reconstructed Proto-Germanic *saltom.
MEANING
The material salt sense remains stable across Germanic.
SCHOLAR
Etymonline · UT LRC editors
CONFIDENCE
probable — The Proto-Germanic form is reconstructed, not attested.
Salt — Origin and historysupportsHeadword history: Old English sealt from Proto-Germanic *saltom

Publishes the Germanic reconstruction.

ORIGINAL ↗
Indo-European Lexicon: sal-supportssal- reflex list: Old English and Germanic reflexes

Supplies comparative support for the reconstructed stage.

ORIGINAL ↗
OPEN CANONICAL EDGE 486 ↗
02

DIRECT DESCENDANT EDGES

THE NEXT HISTORICAL STEP

1
DESCENDANTinheritanceestablished
Middle English · Middle English · common salt

salt

salt used for seasoning and preservation

SOUND
Old English sealt loses or reshapes inherited inflection while the stem stabilizes as Middle English salt.
MEANING
The condiment and preservative meaning remains central.
SCHOLAR
Merriam-Webster · UT LRC editors
CONFIDENCE
established
Salt — Definition, Word History, and First Known UsesupportsWord History: Middle English from Old English sealt

Documents the Old-to-Middle-English transition.

ORIGINAL ↗
Indo-European Lexicon: sal-supportssal- reflex list: Old English sealt and Middle English salt

Independently places both forms in the comparative family.

ORIGINAL ↗
OPEN CANONICAL EDGE 485 ↗
03

TRANSITIVE DESCENDANT CLOSURE

EVERY REVIEWED BRANCH FROM HERE

2

This is the complete downstream closure currently supported by the canonical graph. Every displayed step is a real reviewed edge with its own sound claim, meaning claim, scholar, confidence, and citations.

UNIQUE DESCENDANT NODES
2
REVIEWED EDGES
2
DEEPEST PATH
2
MODERN DOSSIERS REACHED
1
salt2 connected nodes
HISTORICAL STEP 011 EDGE
STEP 01inheritanceestablished
Old Englishsealt→Middle English · Middle Englishsaltsalt used for seasoning and preservation
SOUND
Old English sealt loses or reshapes inherited inflection while the stem stabilizes as Middle English salt.
MEANING
The condiment and preservative meaning remains central.
Merriam-Webster · UT LRC editors2 CITATIONSEDGE 485 ↗
Salt — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use · Word History: Middle English from Old English sealt ↗Indo-European Lexicon: sal- · sal- reflex list: Old English sealt and Middle English salt ↗
HISTORICAL STEP 021 EDGE
STEP 02historical continuationestablished
Middle Englishsalt→Present-Day English · Old English continuation–todaysaltsodium chloride; saline substance; later figurative savor and scientific chemical class
SOUND
Middle English salt continues with stable spelling into modern English while pronunciation changes.
MEANING
The material sense remains while figurative savor, sailor, and chemical-class senses develop.
Merriam-Webster · Etymonline editors2 CITATIONSEDGE 484 ↗
Salt — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use · Word History: Middle English from Old English sealt; definitions ↗Salt — Origin and history · Headword history and semantic extensions ↗

“Every” means every descendant in the reviewed SET-U graph. It does not convert missing scholarship or missing ingestion into a claim of historical completeness. The coverage ledger remains the honest denominator.

04

RECORDED EVIDENCE

ATTESTATIONS / FIRST KNOWN USE

1
05

EDITORIAL REUSE

WORD DOSSIERS USING THIS NODE

1
03saltsealt · established