caramel

See also: Caramel

English

Alternative forms

caromel (archaic)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French caramel, from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese caramelo, dissimilated from Late Latin calamellus, diminutive of calamus (reed) (and a doublet of chalumeau and shawm). Alternatively from Medieval Latin cannamellis, which is a compound of canna + mellis.

Pronunciation

Usage notes

Both the two-syllable and the three-syllable pronunciations are very common in all regions of the United States. The three-syllable pronunciation is more common than the two-syllable one in the South (excluding western Texas), northern New Jersey, eastern New York, and New England, while the two-syllable one is more common in other regions.[5]

Noun

caramel (countable and uncountable, plural caramels)

  1. (uncountable) A smooth, chewy, sticky confection made by heating sugar and other ingredients until the sugars polymerize and become sticky.
    • 2004, Harold McGee, chapter 12, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:
      The usual technique for making caramel is to mix table sugar with some water, then heat until the water has boiled off and the molten sugar colors.
  2. (countable) A (sometimes hardened) piece of this confection.
    • 2004, Harold McGee, chapter 12, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:
      Caramel has a rich, complex flavor and consistency, viscous and sticky and creamy all at once, that works well with most sweets and fruits, with coffee and chocolate, and even with salt: the prized caramels of Brittany are made with a notable dose of sea salt.
  3. A yellow-brown color, like that of caramel.
    caramel:  

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Adjective

caramel (not comparable)

  1. Of a yellow-brown color.
    • 2001, Nicole Sconiers, California Schemin': The Black Woman's Guide to Surviving in LA:
      Every time I saw this caramel cutie, she was working on a new proposal or business plan or flyer to promote herself and her event coordinating business.

Verb

caramel (third-person singular simple present caramels, present participle caramelling or carameling, simple past and past participle caramelled or carameled)

  1. (transitive, cooking, dated) To caramelize.
    • 1900, M. M. Mallock, The Economics of Modern Cookery: Or, A Younger Son's Cookery Book:
      To turn out, place the dish over the mould, and invert both together, when, if the caramelling has been complete, the pudding should slip out without any difficulty at all.

References

  1. caramel”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.: /ˈkarəmɛl/, /ˈkarəm(ə)l/
  2. caramel”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  3. caramel”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  4. caramel” (US) / caramel” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.: /ˈkerəˌmel/, /ˈkɑrməl/
  5. Dialect Survey map 1, showing that both pronunciations are common in all regions, and map 2, showing which regions the di- and tri-syllabic pronunciations predominate in

Further reading

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese caramelo, from Latin calamellus. Doublet of caramell.

Pronunciation

Noun

caramel m (plural caramels)

  1. caramel (sticky confection made by heating sugar)
  2. candy, sweet
    • 2016 November 9, Idoya Noain, “¿Què serà del nostre país?”, in El Periódico:
      “És com si a Hillary Clinton li haguessin ficat la mà a les butxaques i li haguessin tret els caramels.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

Further reading

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese caramelo, probably from Late Latin calamellus, and therefore doublet of the inherited chalumeau.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ka.ʁa.mɛl/
  • (file)

Noun

caramel m (plural caramels)

  1. caramel, fudge

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Anagrams

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French caramel.

Noun

caramel n (plural carameluri)

  1. caramel

Declension

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