personal finance

salary

A fixed regular payment made by an employer to an employee, typically paid monthly or biweekly.

Example

"She negotiated her salary up by $10,000 before accepting the job offer."

💡 Memory Tip

SAL-ary — from salt (sal). Roman soldiers were paid in salt. Your salary is your 'salt.'

Etymology

From Latin 'salarium' — possibly from 'sal' (salt), as Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt.

Common Misspellings

salerysallarysalerysalaery

Related Terms

income

See Also

wagescompensationbonus

Want to understand money better? Get money tips and new terms in your inbox.