caramel

caramel · noun, adjective, verb¹

1. Medieval Latin · derived fromcannamellis
2. Late Latin · derived fromcalamellus
3. Portuguese · derived fromcaramelo
4. Spanish · derived fromcaramelo
5. French · borrowed fromcaramel
6. English todaycaramel

Borrowed 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.

Caramel · proper noun²

1. French · borrowed fromCaramel
2. English todayCaramel

Borrowed from French Caramel.

Words from the same roots