Soda

How to spell soda

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce soda

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does soda mean?

1. nounA carbonated drink, either plain soda water or a sweetened flavoured version.
2. nounA sodium compound such as sodium carbonate or bicarbonate, used in cooking and cleaning.

Soda in a sentence

• She ordered a lemon-lime soda with her sandwich.

• The recipe called for a teaspoon of baking soda.

• The diner refilled his glass of soda for free.

• Caustic soda can clear a blocked drain quickly.

Where does soda come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Soda came into English in the late 1500s from Medieval Latin soda, a name for plants of the saltwort family and for the alkaline ash obtained by burning them. That ash, rich in sodium carbonate, was prized for making glass and soap, which is why the word originally referred to a raw chemical material rather than a drink. The Latin term very likely traces back to Arabic suwwad, the name of the saltwort plant itself, reflecting how much early glass and chemical knowledge passed through the Arabic-speaking world; this Arabic link is probable but not certain, so the trail is a little hazy. The chemical sense gave rise to the element name sodium, which is why its symbol is Na (from the related Latin natron) yet shares this family of meanings. By the 1800s the word had broadened from the chemical world into 'soda water', the bubbly carbonated drink, and from there to the sweet fizzy drinks people enjoy today. The spelling itself is mercifully simple, a plain phonetic four letters that rarely trips anyone up.

How the word is built

• soda (single root; no prefix or suffix)