From Latin 'salmo,' probably from 'salire' (to leap), for the fish's leaps up waterfalls.
A large anadromous fish of the family Salmonidae that migrates from the sea to freshwater rivers to spawn.
From Anglo-Norman 'saumoun,' from Latin 'salmonem,' possibly from 'salire' (to leap), describing the fish's spectacular leaps up waterfalls during migration. The silent 'l' was reinserted by scholars in the 17th century. Key roots: salire (Latin: "to leap, to jump").