Etymology

sardine

sard·ine
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Today it means: Any one of several species of small herring which are commonly preserved in olive oil or in tins for food, especially the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus, syn. Clupea pilchardus). The American sardines of the Atlantic coast are mostly the young of the Atlantic herring and of the menhaden, and many canned sardines in America are sprats. Full definition →

French sardine ← Latin sardīna ← Ancient Greek σαρδίνη
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sardine · noun, verb1

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromσαρδίνη
  2. Latin · derived fromsardīna
  3. French · borrowed fromsardine
  4. English todaysardine

Borrowed from French sardine (cognate with Spanish sardina, Italian sardina), Latin sardīna; from Ancient Greek σαρδίνη (sardínē).

sardine · noun, adjective2

Pliny states that its name was ultimately derived from Sardis, in Lydia, where the sard was first discovered; but probably ultimately derived from Persian sered ("yellowish-red").

Sardine · noun3

From the way protesters are tightly packed into public spaces, analogous to the way sardines are packed into cans.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.