Saus

Saus is a term with multiple meanings depending on language and context. In Dutch and Afrikaans, saus denotes sauce or gravy, the liquid or semi-solid flavoring used to accompany meals. The word is common in everyday cooking and appears in numerous compound forms, such as tomatensaus (tomato sauce) and pindasaus (peanut sauce). It covers a wide range of sauces, from hot and savory to sweet or creamy, and is used across both home kitchens and professional kitchens.

Etymology and related languages: The Dutch and Afrikaans word saus derives from the French word sauce, which itself traces back to Latin salsa, meaning salted or seasoned. The development reflects historical culinary exchange and the spread of sauce-making terms across European languages. English shares a cognate term, sauce, with a closely related etymological lineage.

Other uses: Saus also appears as a surname in Dutch- and Afrikaans-speaking communities. In contexts such as branding or regional product labeling, the word may be used to emphasize a sauce-focused offering. Outside of these linguistic and cultural usages, there is no single, dominant meaning of “saus” in English-language contexts beyond its culinary sense in Dutch and Afrikaans.

See also: Sauce, List of sauces, Dutch language, Afrikaans language.