Meanings
plural fleurs de sel
- uncountableusuallyFloating salt crystals skimmed from the surface of evaporation ponds, used in cooking.
Fleur de sel is less bitter than regular sea salt, they say, because it has very little magnesium.
2019 May 23, Zoe Williams, “Posh salt is having a moment – does enjoying it make me pretentious?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN1 more example
Egyptian salt from Alexandria was highly appreciated, especially their fleur de sel, the light crystals skimmed off the surface of the water.
2002, Mark Kurlansky, Salt: A World History
Origin
- Frenchfleur de sel
- Englishfleur de sel
Borrowed from French fleur de sel (literally “salt flower, salt blossom”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan flor de sal
- flor de salTranslations
Esperanto salfloro
- salfloroTranslations
French fleur de sel
- fleur de selTranslations
Portuguese flor de sal
- flor de salTranslations
Spanish flor de sal
- flor de salTranslations
Cite this entry
fleur de sel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fleur%20de%20sel
“fleur de sel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fleur%20de%20sel. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fleur de sel,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fleur%20de%20sel.
Source: fleur de sel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.