salutis

Salutis is a Latin noun form, the genitive singular of salus, and thus broadly conveys meanings related to health, safety, welfare, or salvation. In classical and late Latin, salutis appears in possessive and descriptive constructions, signaling “of health,” “of welfare,” or, in Christian contexts, “of salvation.” The exact sense depends on the surrounding words and the intended nuance of welfare or rescue.

In Roman religion and culture, the word is connected to the broader concept of welfare or well-being thatinfuses civic and personal life. The goddess Salus personified safety and health, and her imagery and cult helped shape inscriptions and religious practice centered on communal well-being. The idea of safeguarding the state or the people often appears in phrases and prayers that invoke welfare or deliverance, a semantic field that salutis can help express in Latin.

In modern linguistic usage, salutis is primarily encountered within scholarly or textual studies of Latin. The root of salutis lies in the same semantic family as words in English such as salvation, salutary, and salute (the latter two developed through related Latin forms such as salutatio and salutare). These derivatives reflect the enduring association between health, safety, and welfare in Latin and its descendants. See also salus, salvation, salutatio, and salutary for related concepts.