Day 002 — 2026年5月10日(日)に配信

CEFR A2 220 words Etymology英検準2級〜2級

Why "Salary" Comes from Salt

— A word older than Rome itself —

英文を読む

文の左のを押すと、その1文だけ読み上げます。まずは辞書を引かずに、最後まで一気に読んでみてください。

Have you ever wondered where the word "salary" comes from? The answer might surprise you. It comes from "salt." Yes, the same white stuff you put on your french fries.

About 2,000 years ago, ancient Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt instead of money. The Latin word for this salt money was "salarium." Over many centuries, this word changed and became the modern English word "salary."

But why salt? Today, salt is cheap. We can buy a big bag at any supermarket for just a few hundred yen. In ancient times, however, salt was very valuable. People needed it to keep food fresh in a world without refrigerators. Without salt, meat and fish would quickly go bad.

Salt was so important that whole roads were built to carry it across Europe. One famous Roman road was even called the "Via Salaria," or the "Salt Road." Soldiers traveled along this road to protect salt traders from thieves.

There are other interesting words connected to salt. The word "salad" also comes from salt, because the Romans used to put salt on their vegetables. Even the phrase "worth your salt" means someone who is good at their job — strong enough to deserve their salt money.

So next time you receive your salary, smile a little. You are getting paid in something far more powerful than salt: an idea that has lived for two thousand years.

4問に答える

選ぶとその場で正誤と解説が出ます。

0/4

Q1 因果推論

Why was salt so valuable in the ancient world?

Q2 内容の照合

What was the "Via Salaria"?

Q3 語句の意味

According to the passage, someone who is "worth their salt" is a person who —

Q4 筆者の意図

What does the writer mean by "an idea that has lived for two thousand years"?

日本語訳（段落ごとの対訳）

01Have you ever wondered where the word "salary" comes from? The answer might surprise you. It comes from "salt." Yes, the same white stuff you put on your french fries.

「salary（給料）」という言葉、どこから来たのか考えたことはありますか？答えはちょっと驚きかもしれません。語源は「salt（塩）」——そう、フライドポテトにかける、あの白いものです。

02About 2,000 years ago, ancient Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt instead of money. The Latin word for this salt money was "salarium." Over many centuries, this word changed and became the modern English word "salary."

今から約2000年前、古代ローマの兵士たちは時に、お金の代わりに塩で給料を受け取っていました。このときの「塩のお給料」を意味するラテン語が「salarium」。これが何世紀もの時を経て変化し、現代英語の「salary」になったというわけです。

03But why salt? Today, salt is cheap. We can buy a big bag at any supermarket for just a few hundred yen. In ancient times, however, salt was very valuable. People needed it to keep food fresh in a world without refrigerators. Without salt, meat and fish would quickly go bad.

でも、なぜ塩だったのでしょう？今でこそ塩は安く、スーパーで大袋を数百円で買えますね。しかし古代では、塩は実に貴重なものでした。冷蔵庫のない世界で、食べ物を腐らせないために塩は必要不可欠だったのです。塩がなければ、肉も魚もあっという間に傷んでしまいます。

04Salt was so important that whole roads were built to carry it across Europe. One famous Roman road was even called the "Via Salaria," or the "Salt Road." Soldiers traveled along this road to protect salt traders from thieves.

塩はあまりにも重要だったため、ヨーロッパ各地に「塩を運ぶための専用道路」が築かれたほど。そのなかでも有名なローマ街道のひとつが「Via Salaria（塩の道）」。兵士たちは盗賊から塩商人を守るため、この道を行き来したのです。

05There are other interesting words connected to salt. The word "salad" also comes from salt, because the Romans used to put salt on their vegetables. Even the phrase "worth your salt" means someone who is good at their job — strong enough to deserve their salt money.

塩にまつわる興味深い言葉は他にもあります。「salad」も語源は塩で、ローマ人が野菜に塩を振りかけて食べていたことに由来します。「worth your salt（塩に値する）」という表現も、「給料に見合った働きができる、有能な人」という意味——つまり「自分の塩代をもらうに足る人物」というわけです。

06So next time you receive your salary, smile a little. You are getting paid in something far more powerful than salt: an idea that has lived for two thousand years.

だから、今度お給料を受け取るときは、少しだけ微笑んでみてください。あなたが受け取っているのは、塩よりずっと力強い何か——2000年も生き続けてきた、ひとつの「考え」なのですから。

この英文の語句

salary A2 給料
ancient B1 古代の
valuable B1 貴重な
century A2 世紀・100年
soldier A2 兵士
fresh A2 新鮮な
deserve B1 〜に値する
thief A2 泥棒

目から鱗の豆知識

へえ！

実は「sausage（ソーセージ）」も塩から来ていて、ラテン語のsalsus（塩漬けにした）が語源。塩で保存した肉=sausage、というわけです。さらに「sauce（ソース）」も同じ語根で、もとは塩入り調味液のこと。塩ひとつで料理英語の半分くらいが繋がってしまうから面白いんですよね^^語源で語彙を束にする学習は、英検2級の語句補充にも準1級の語彙問題にも効きます。2級は「知っている語の別の意味」、準1級は「初見の難語」が壁なので、効き方は違っても、どちらの側からも助けてくれます^^

もう一つ

実は「兵士（soldier）」も、もとをたどればお金の名前です。ラテン語の solidus（ローマ帝国の金貨）から、古フランス語で「給料をもらって戦う人」を意味する語になり、英語に入りました。salary（塩）とsoldier（金貨）——軍隊にまつわる2つの単語が、どちらも「何で支払われたか」から生まれているわけです。給与明細を見る目が、少し変わりませんか^^

この英文で拾っておきたい表現

instead of ~ 〜の代わりに paid in salt instead of money のように、置き換えの対比を作る
deserve 〜に値する You deserve it! は「当然の報いだよ（褒め言葉）」
so ~ that ... とても〜なので… Salt was so important that whole roads were built. 因果を1文で言える形

もっと解きたい人へ

無限モードで100日ぶんから出題させる AIを待たずに、この場で。読解・文のつながり・語彙・空所補充・語形・前置詞・語順・聞き取りが、尽きることなく出てきます。手ごたえも3段階から選べます。 この話題で、新しい長文を書いてもらう 「Why "Salary" Comes from Salt」に関連する英文を、AIはらだくんがその場で書きます。英検2級〜1級までレベルを選べて、4問つき。読んだら押して答えられます。

朝活英語100連発|原田英語.com

Day 002

Why "Salary" Comes from Salt

CEFR A2英検準2級〜2級220 words2026年5月10日(日) 配信 Name

Reading

1Have you ever wondered where the word "salary" comes from? The answer might surprise you. It comes from "salt." Yes, the same white stuff you put on your french fries.

2About 2,000 years ago, ancient Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt instead of money. The Latin word for this salt money was "salarium." Over many centuries, this word changed and became the modern English word "salary."

3But why salt? Today, salt is cheap. We can buy a big bag at any supermarket for just a few hundred yen. In ancient times, however, salt was very valuable. People needed it to keep food fresh in a world without refrigerators. Without salt, meat and fish would quickly go bad.

4Salt was so important that whole roads were built to carry it across Europe. One famous Roman road was even called the "Via Salaria," or the "Salt Road." Soldiers traveled along this road to protect salt traders from thieves.

5There are other interesting words connected to salt. The word "salad" also comes from salt, because the Romans used to put salt on their vegetables. Even the phrase "worth your salt" means someone who is good at their job — strong enough to deserve their salt money.

6So next time you receive your salary, smile a little. You are getting paid in something far more powerful than salt: an idea that has lived for two thousand years.

Questions

Why was salt so valuable in the ancient world?
1. ABecause only Roman soldiers were allowed to own it
2. BBecause there were no refrigerators, so it was the way to keep food from going bad
3. CBecause it could be found in very few places in Europe
4. DBecause it was used as the only money in Rome
What was the "Via Salaria"?
1. AA Roman road built to carry salt across Europe
2. BThe Latin word that later became "salary"
3. CA tax that salt traders had to pay to Rome
4. DThe market in Rome where salt was sold
According to the passage, someone who is "worth their salt" is a person who —
1. Ais careful about how they spend money
2. Bearns more money than everyone around them
3. Cis physically strong enough to carry heavy loads
4. Dis good enough at their job to deserve their pay
What does the writer mean by "an idea that has lived for two thousand years"?
1. AThat salt is still the most valuable thing in the world
2. BThat Latin is still spoken in offices today
3. CThat the idea of being paid for your work has continued since Roman times
4. DThat the Roman roads are still used by workers

Day 002 — Why "Salary" Comes from Salt|解答・語句・全訳

Answers

B Because there were no refrigerators, so it was the way to keep food from going bad

第3段落 "People needed it to keep food fresh in a world without refrigerators" が根拠。in a world without ~（〜が無い世界では）という前提の置き方に気づけるかどうかがカギ。「唯一の通貨だった」は言い過ぎで、本文は "sometimes paid in salt instead of money" と書いています。
A A Roman road built to carry salt across Europe

第4段落 "One famous Roman road was even called the 'Via Salaria,' or the 'Salt Road.'" が根拠。ラテン語の給料は salarium で別物です。A, or B（AすなわちB）は言い換えの合図。ここを拾えると、知らない固有名詞でも意味が取れます。
D is good enough at their job to deserve their pay

本文は "means someone who is good at their job — strong enough to deserve their salt money" と説明しています。ここでの strong は力持ちのことではなく「（給料に）見合うだけの」。deserve（〜に値する）が意味の中心です。
C That the idea of being paid for your work has continued since Roman times

最後の一文は「塩よりずっと強力なもの」と言っています。塩そのものではなく「働いた分だけ支払われる」という仕組みが2000年続いている、という読み。抽象語（idea）が何を指すかは、直前の段落全体から拾います。

Key Words

salaryA2給料
ancientB1古代の
valuableB1貴重な
centuryA2世紀・100年
soldierA2兵士
freshA2新鮮な
deserveB1〜に値する
thiefA2泥棒

日本語訳

1「salary（給料）」という言葉、どこから来たのか考えたことはありますか？答えはちょっと驚きかもしれません。語源は「salt（塩）」——そう、フライドポテトにかける、あの白いものです。

2今から約2000年前、古代ローマの兵士たちは時に、お金の代わりに塩で給料を受け取っていました。このときの「塩のお給料」を意味するラテン語が「salarium」。これが何世紀もの時を経て変化し、現代英語の「salary」になったというわけです。

3でも、なぜ塩だったのでしょう？今でこそ塩は安く、スーパーで大袋を数百円で買えますね。しかし古代では、塩は実に貴重なものでした。冷蔵庫のない世界で、食べ物を腐らせないために塩は必要不可欠だったのです。塩がなければ、肉も魚もあっという間に傷んでしまいます。

4塩はあまりにも重要だったため、ヨーロッパ各地に「塩を運ぶための専用道路」が築かれたほど。そのなかでも有名なローマ街道のひとつが「Via Salaria（塩の道）」。兵士たちは盗賊から塩商人を守るため、この道を行き来したのです。

5塩にまつわる興味深い言葉は他にもあります。「salad」も語源は塩で、ローマ人が野菜に塩を振りかけて食べていたことに由来します。「worth your salt（塩に値する）」という表現も、「給料に見合った働きができる、有能な人」という意味——つまり「自分の塩代をもらうに足る人物」というわけです。

6だから、今度お給料を受け取るときは、少しだけ微笑んでみてください。あなたが受け取っているのは、塩よりずっと力強い何か——2000年も生き続けてきた、ひとつの「考え」なのですから。