History · 2
What does the word 'salary' share its origin with, reflecting how workers were once paid in ancient Rome?
Answer
Salt — Roman soldiers were paid a 'salarium' (salt allowance) to buy salt
The English word 'salary' comes from the Latin salarium, which was a payment made to Roman soldiers, widely understood to be related to salt or the allowance to purchase it. Salt was extraordinarily valuable in the ancient world — it was used to preserve food long before refrigeration, and control of salt production was a source of immense wealth and political power. The phrase 'worth his salt' and 'salary' both preserve this ancient connection.
💡 Did you know?
The word 'salary' traces to the Latin salarium — the salt allowance paid to Roman soldiers. Salt was so precious in the ancient world it functioned as currency.
Other options people guess
- Gold coins — 'salarium' was the word for a gold coin
- Grain — 'salarium' referred to grain rations given to soldiers
- Silver — the Latin 'sal' meant both salt and silver in ancient Rome
Know your history trivia?
Play a free History quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.
More History facts
History
In what year were the Dead Sea Scrolls first discovered by a Bedouin shepherd near the cliffs above the Dead Sea?
The Dead Sea Scrolls include the world's oldest known copies of nearly every Hebrew Bible book — some manuscripts are over 1,000 years older than any previously known version.
History
In what year did Mount Vesuvius erupt and bury the Roman city of Pompeii under metres of volcanic ash?
Pompeii's catastrophic burial preserved Roman election slogans, graffiti, and a fast-food shop menu still showing its prices — the most detailed accidental time capsule of daily ancient life ever found.
History
Which 19th-century archaeologist followed clues in Homer's Iliad to excavate the site in modern-day Turkey now believed to be the ancient city of Troy?
Heinrich Schliemann's excavation destroyed much of the layer archaeologists now believe was the real Troy — he dug straight through it chasing older, more dramatic ruins beneath.
History
What are the giant stone statues carved by the Rapa Nui people and erected across Easter Island called?
The largest moai ever carved still lies unfinished in its quarry — had it been completed, it would have stood over 21 metres tall and weighed approximately 270 tonnes.
History
In which modern country is the ancient Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük located — one of the world's earliest towns, inhabited from around 7500 to 5700 BCE?
Çatalhöyük's residents had no streets or ground-level doors — people entered their homes through holes in the roof and climbed down ladders inside, like a prehistoric apartment block.
History
Which ancient civilisation of Mesopotamia is credited with developing one of the world's first writing systems — known as cuneiform — around 3200 BCE?
The Sumerians invented writing not for literature or religion but to track beer rations — the world's oldest known written tablets are administrative brewery accounting records.