每月發工資的時候都是大家最開心的時候，領到工資以后，不少人又可以網購血拼、還信用卡、刷信用卡了。不過，你知道英語中“工資”一詞salary是怎么來的嗎？

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

領到薪水或許是件挺開心的事情，不過薪水（salary）這個詞的來源卻另有故事。

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.

在古時候，鹽不是那么容易得到的東西（而且那時候用鹽調味也是一種超前的生活方式），羅馬士兵會領到一筆錢（salarium）專門用來買鹽。

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salarius，指“鹽的”）一詞逐漸用來指代發給士兵的軍餉以及發給羅馬帝國所有官員的錢資，直至后來，用來統指“薪水、薪資”。

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen）