SALT I
1
8.1
- proper noun
- The second agreement—the Interim Agreement on Offensive Strategic Arms (SALT I)—set out numerical limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of both sides.
Examples
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Specifically, under SALT I, the United States was allowed 1,054 ICBMs and 656 SLBMs, and the Soviet Union was allowed 1,409 ICBMs and 950 SLBMs.
Academic text (1991) -
On the other hand, those minor successes in arms limitation, such as SALT I, only served to channel the arms race into new and more dangerous directions.
Academic text (1991) -
SALT II was a natural sequel to SALT I.
Academic text (1991) -
Although the Soviets were not violating the letter of the 1972 SALT I agreement, they were building up a substantial counter-force capability centered around the continued deployment of heavy land-based ICBMs.
Academic text (1991) -
The first treaty, known as SALT I, aimed to limit strategic nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union.
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Signed in 1972, SALT I marked a significant step towards nuclear arms control between the two nations.
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During the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, the agreement referred to as SALT I was achieved to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict.
Surface Forms
Morphology
SALT + I
This is an acronymic proper name: the parts 'SALT' and 'I' (as given) are not interpreted as their ordinary lexical meanings by speakers but as an abbreviation for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and a numeral indicating the first agreement. A B1 learner who only knows the surface words would not be able to derive the treaty meaning without prior knowledge of the historical abbreviation, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
SALT I comes from the abbreviation SALT, short for the 'Strategic Arms Limitation Talks', and the I shows it was the first set of talks. Imagine leaders meeting to agree to stop adding more big nuclear weapons, and that image explains why SALT I refers to the 1972 treaty that limited strategic nuclear arms.