marmalade
UK /ˈmɑː.mə.leɪd/ · US /ˈmɑɹ.mə.leɪd/ noun, verb
Forms marmalades marmalading marmaladed
- noun A kind of jam made with citrus fruit, distinguished by being made slightly bitter by the addition of the peel and by partial caramelisation during manufacture. Most commonly made with Seville oranges, and usually qualified by the name of the fruit when made with other types of fruit. “lime marmalade”
- noun (obsolete) Quince jam.
- noun A cat having orange- or ginger-colored fur.
- verb (transitive) To spread marmalade on.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French marmelade, from Portuguese marmelada (“quince jam”), from marmelo (“quince”), from Latin melimēlum (“sweet apple”), from Ancient Greek μελίμηλον (melímēlon), from μέλι (méli, “honey”) + μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”). A false folk etymology claims that this comes from the French phrase “Marie est malade” (“Mary is ill”), referring to Mary, Queen of Scots, falling ill and being given marmalade to feel better.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A preserve or confection made of the pulp of fruit, as the quince, pear, apple, orange, etc., boiled with sugar, and brought to a jamlike consistence. Marmalade tree (Bot.), a sapotaceous tree (Lucuma mammosa) of the West Indies and Tropical America. It has large obovate leaves and an egg-shaped fruit from three to five inches long, containing a pleasant-flavored pulp and a single large seed. The fruit is called marmalade, or natural marmalade, from its consistency and flavor.
Etymology [F. marmelade, Pg. marmelada, fr. marmélo a quince, fr. L. melimelum honey apple, Gr. Mellifluous, Melon.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “marmalade”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details