The name of our sardine is not ours. And before it was, it already was

It is one of the most caught fish in Portugal and one of the country’s trademark images. But in reality it originates elsewhere.

Our cod, which is from Norway, was no longer enough. After all, our sardines are not ours either — and its name says it all.

The oldest record of the name “sardine” dates from a time when Latin was still spoken, Superinteressante. Just like this language, also the name of the fish that is so typically Portuguese comes from… Italy.

This fish is the second most fished in Portugal, only surpassed by mackerel — according to , between June and September 2023, 14 thousand tons were caught — but it is also very common in Italy, having even given rise, thousands of years ago, to the name of an island: to Sardinia.

So, if you’ve already tried to guess where the name of sardines comes from, you’re right: it really comes from this Mediterranean island.

As Super Interessante tells, its oldest record dates back to the 9th century BC and was found in a Phoenician stone inscription (the famous “Nora’s Stone“) in which the name of the island already appears as From the balloon.

Even so, the magazine recalls, the origin of the name of the Sardinian people, who inhabited the region and was responsible for the toponymy of Sardinia is probably prior to the Proto-Indo-European languages ​​(of which Latin is a part).

According to the magazine, there are those who say that Plato explained the origin of the name, although there is no confirmation of this: the philosopher says in the book Timaeus that it all began with a woman named Sardo and born in Sardiscapital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, in present-day Türkiye.

In any case, the name comes from Italy, but it is present in the imagination of those who visit Portugal and have this fish as a reference, typical of Portuguese cuisine and the sea — at least until we are here for good.

Well, we then find out that, just like the famous hake, sardine before it was already gone.