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jelly

Today it means: A dessert made by boiling gelatine (or a plant-based alternative such as agar or carrageenan), sugar and some flavouring (often derived from fruit) and allowing it to set. Full definition →

Middle English gele ← Old French gelee ← Early Medieval Latin gelāta

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jelly · noun, verb¹

Proto-Indo-European*gel-
Latingelū
Latingelō
Early Medieval Latingelāta
Old Frenchgelee
Middle Englishgele
English todayjelly

Inherited from Middle English gele. Doublet of gelee.

jelly · adjective²

Clipping of jealous + -y (informal adjective ending).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.