Food & Drink · 2
According to Roman etymological history, which commodity was given to soldiers as part of their pay, later giving rise to the word 'salary'?
Answer
Salt
Roman soldiers were partially compensated with salt, called 'salarium,' the root of the modern word 'salary,' even though salt was later eclipsed in value by imported spices.
💡 Did you know?
Roman soldiers received salt rations as partial wages—the word 'salary' derives from this practice, yet salt eventually became worthless compared to exotic spices.
Other options people guess
- Pepper
- Saffron
- Cinnamon
Topics
- etymology
- ancient-rome
- spices
- history
Know your food & drink trivia?
Play a free Food & Drink quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.
More Food & Drink facts
Food & Drink
Before Portuguese traders introduced chili peppers, which pungent spice provided the primary source of heat in Indian cooking?
India's famous curry heat comes entirely from chili peppers introduced by Portuguese colonizers—indigenous Indian cuisine relied on black pepper and other spices.
Food & Drink
What was the name of the diluted sour wine ration that Roman soldiers drank daily for hydration and energy?
Ancient Roman soldiers received a daily ration of sour wine mixed with water called posca—essentially fermented grape waste—as their standard beverage and energy source.
Food & Drink
Posca, the daily drink rationed to Roman soldiers, was primarily made by diluting which fermented substance with water?
Ancient Roman soldiers received a daily ration of sour wine mixed with water called posca—essentially fermented grape waste—as their standard beverage and energy source.
Food & Drink
According to food historians, which European nation's traders are credited with introducing chili peppers to Korea in the 16th century, eventually turning kimchi into a spicy dish?
Kimchi was historically made without chili peppers until the 16th century, when Portuguese traders introduced them to Korea via Japan.
Food & Drink
Which now-iconic street food dish did Thailand's government actively promote in the 1930s and 1940s as part of a nationalist campaign to unify the country?
Bangkok's pad Thai wasn't a traditional dish until the 1930s–40s, invented by Thai government as nationalist propaganda to unify the country.
Food & Drink
Which country is the world's largest producer of vanilla, accounting for the majority of global supply?
Vanilla orchids must be hand-pollinated in Madagascar because the native Mexican bee that naturally pollinates them doesn't exist there — every bean represents a worker touching each flower by hand.