article of food consisting of chopped or minced meat, seasoned and stuffed into the cleaned gut of an ox, sheep, or pig, and tied at regular intervals, mid-15c., sawsyge, sausige, from Old North French saussiche (Old French saussice, Modern French saucisse), from Vulgar Latin *salsica "sausage," from salsicus "seasoned with salt," from Latin salsus "salted," from past participle of Old Latin sallere "to salt," from sal (genitive salis) "salt" (from PIE root *sal- "salt").
Sawsidge, A Pudding made of Capons guts, Porke, and Spice, &c. [Cockeram, English Dictionarie, 1623]
In 16c.-17c. also sawsage, sassage; Dickens has the latter as a colloquial pronunciation in 1837. Sausage factory in the literal sense is attested by 1831; as figurative of something the less known about the better, by 1975. Sausage fest/party, "event with an overabundance of males" is by 2001.