Chorizo is a type of sausage that originated in Spain and is one of many different types of Spanish sausages. Linguists believe that the word chorizo comes from the late Latin word for salted via the Portuguese word sourico. However, another word for sausage - salchicha - was also incorporated into the Castilian language (what is often referred to as the Spanish language) via Italy. In effect, there are two words - chorizo and salchicha - that both refer to sausages.