Well attestedFrom the people of the place
Attic salt
noun · first attested 17th century
Wit itself is measured in Athenian units.
Dry, refined wit.
Record
- Relationship
- From the people of the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 17th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Attica
- In English
Attic salt
Attic, of Attica, stood for Athenian elegance, and salt for pungency. English borrowed the Latin phrase whole.
Also pinned to Attica
1 more from the same place
Greece
All 29 entries 27 more words from Greece
marathonThe long race is named for a plain in Attica.MarathoncurrantThe baking fruit is a worn-down word for Corinth.CorinthmagnetThe lodestone is named for Magnesia.MagnesiaacademyEvery academy is named for a grove outside Athens.AkademeialaconicA tight-lipped style is named for Sparta’s region.SpartaOlympicThe games are named for a sanctuary, not for Mount Olympus.OlympiaBoeotianAn insult preserved from one Greek region's rivalry with another.BoeotiacosOne lettuce is named for a Greek island and the other for Rome.Kos