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URL: https://www.etymonline.com/word/caramel

⇱ Caramel - Etymology, Origin & Meaning

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Origin and history of caramel

caramel(n.)

1725, "burnt sugar," from French caramel "burnt sugar" (17c.), from Old Spanish caramel (modern caramelo), which is of uncertain origin, probably ultimately from Medieval Latin cannamellis, which is traditionally from Latin canna (see cane (n.)) + mellis, genitive of mel "honey" (from PIE root *melit- "honey"). But some give the Medieval Latin word an Arabic origin, or trace it to Latin calamus "reed, cane."

The word was being used by 1884 of a dark-colored creamy candy and by 1909 as a color-name.

Entries linking to caramel

late 14c., "long slender woody stem," from Old French cane "reed, cane, spear" (13c., Modern French canne), from Latin canna "reed, cane," from Greek kanna, perhaps from Babylonian-Assyrian qanu "tube, reed" (compare Hebrew qaneh, Arabic qanah "reed"), which may come from Sumerian-Akkadian gin "reed." The sense of "length of cane used as a walking stick" is from 1580s.

"convert into caramel," 1837, from caramel + -ize. Earlier was past-participle adjective carameled (1727). Related: Caramelized; caramelizing.

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "honey."

It might form all or part of: caramel; marmalade; Melissa; mellifluous; mildew; molasses; mousse.

It might also be the source of: Greek meli, Latin mel "honey; sweetness;" Albanian mjal' "honey;" Old Irish mil "honey," Irish milis "sweet;" Old English mildeaw "nectar," milisc "honeyed, sweet;" Old High German milsken "to sweeten;" Gothic miliþ "honey."

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kind of thick, soft leather, 1570s, buffe leather "leather made of buffalo hide," from French buffle "buffalo" (15c., via Italian, from Latin bufalus; see buffalo (n.)). The color term "light brownish-yellow" (by 1788) comes via the hue of buff leather. The old association

The caramel-coated popcorn-and-peanuts confection was said to have been introduced at the World's Columbian Exposition (1893...

hundred-eyed giant of Greek mythology, late 14c., from Latin, from Greek Argos, literally "the bright one," from argos "shining, bright" (from PIE root *arg- "to shine; white"). His epithet was Panoptes "all-eyes." After his death, Hera transferred his eyes to the peacock's tail.

Old English brun "dark, dusky," developing a definite color sense from 13c., from Proto-Germanic *brunaz (source also of Old Norse brunn, Danish brun, Old Frisian and Old High German brun, Dutch bruin, German braun), from PIE root *bher- (2) "bright; brown." The Old English word

late 13c., "crystallized sugar," from Old French çucre candi "sugar candy," ultimately from Arabic qandi, from Persian qand "cane sugar," probably from Sanskrit khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian (compare Tamil kantu "candy," kattu "to harden, condense"). The sense

Middle English raue, from Old English hreaw, hreow "uncooked," from Proto-Germanic *khrawaz (source also of Old Norse hrar, Danish raa, Old Saxon hra, Middle Dutch rau, Dutch rauw, Old High German hrawer, German roh), from PIE root *kreue- "raw flesh." Of skin, "tender, sore, abr

brownish-ochre color, by 1760 (terra-sienna), from Italian terra di Sienna "earth of Siena," region in Italy where the coloring material first was produced from a type of earth mined there. It is used as a pigment in both oil and watercolor painting. See Siena. Burnt sienna is t

1680s, "one who flees to a refuge or shelter or place of safety; one who in times of persecution or political disorder flees to a foreign country for safety," from French refugié, a noun use of the past participle of refugier "to take shelter, protect," from Old French refuge "hi

"machine to measure and indicate time mechanically" (since late 1940s also electronically), late 14c., clokke, originally "clock with bells," probably from Middle Dutch clocke (Dutch klok) "a clock," from Old North French cloque (Old French cloke, Modern French cloche "a bell"),

early 14c., appelen, originally in the legal sense, to "call" to a higher judge or court, from Anglo-French apeler "to call upon, accuse," Old French apeler "make an appeal" (11c., Modern French appeler), from Latin appellare "to accost, address, appeal to, summon, name," iterati

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