'sardine' originates from French, specifically the word 'sardine', ultimately from Latin 'sardina' and Greek 'sardaína', probably named after the island of Sardinia where such fish were abundant.

'sardine' changed from the Greek word 'sardaína' to Latin 'sardina', then into Old French as 'sardine', and finally became the modern English word 'sardine'.

Initially, it referred specifically to the fish associated with Sardinia; over time the meaning broadened to include canned forms of the fish and a figurative sense describing people crowded together.