confection
/kənˈfɛkʃən/ noun, verb
Forms confections confectioning confectioned
- noun A food item prepared very sweet, frequently decorated in fine detail, and often preserved with sugar, such as a candy, sweetmeat, fruit preserve, pastry, or cake. “The table was covered with all sorts of tempting confections.”
- noun The act or process of confecting; the process of making, compounding, or preparing something.
- noun The result of such a process; something made up or confected; a concoction. “The defense attorney maintained that the charges were a confection of the local police.”
- noun (dated) An artistic, musical, or literary work taken as frivolous, amusing, or contrived; a composition of a light nature.
- noun (dated) Something, such as a garment or a decoration, that is very elaborate, delicate, or luxurious, usually also impractical or non-utilitarian. “Her gown was a marvelous confection of lace and tulle.”
- noun (obsolete, medicine) A medicinal preparation of any kind, a compound of drugs.
- noun (obsolete) A deadly poison.
- verb To make into a confection, prepare as a confection.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English confescioun, borrowed from Old French confeccion (French confection), borrowed from Latin cōnfectiōnem, from cōnfectus, past participle of cōnficiō (“prepare”), from con- (“with”) + faciō (“to make, do”). By surface analysis, confect + -ion. Originally "the making by means of ingredients"; sense of "candy or light pastry" predominant since 1500s.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A composition of different materials. [Obs.]
- noun A preparation of fruits or roots, etc., with sugar; a sweetmeat.
Etymology [F., fr. L. confectio.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “confection”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details