Meanings
plural butterscotches
- uncountableusuallyA hard candy made from butter, brown sugar, syrup and vanilla.
- uncountableusuallyA light brown colour, like that of butterscotch candy.
- not comparableOf a light brown colour, like that of butterscotch candy.
- not comparableHaving the flavour of butterscotch.
Origin
- Middle Englishscocchen“to score, nick, cut”
- Englishbutterscotch
From butter + scotch, with the second element deriving (not from scotch whiskey or Scotland, but) from Middle English scocchen (“to score, nick, cut”), in reference to how the candy is boiled and hardened and then usually scored to make breaking it apart easier. The word is usually said to have originally been a trademark of Parkinson's, who is claimed to have invented it.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 奶油糖果, 奶油糖漿 /奶油糖浆
- 奶油糖果 (nǎiyóu tángguǒ)hard candy
- 奶油糖漿 /奶油糖浆 (nǎiyóu tángjiāng)sauce or syrup made of similar ingredients
- 奶油糖色的 (nǎiyóutángsè de)of a light brown colour
- 奶油糖味的 (nǎiyóutángwèi de)having the flavour of butterscotch
Finnish voikola, kova toffee
- voikolahard candy
- kova toffeehard candy
- toffeekastikesauce or syrup made of similar ingredients
- toffeenvärinenof a light brown colour
- toffeenmakuinenhaving the flavour of butterscotch
French caramel au beurre, caramel
- caramel au beurrehard candy
- caramelsauce or syrup made of similar ingredients
German Buttertoffee
- Buttertoffeehard candy
Norwegian fløtekaramell
- fløtekaramellhard candy
Polish karmelek
- karmelekhard candy
Portuguese caramelo
- caramelohard candy
Russian ири́с, ири́ска
- ири́с (irís)hard candy
- ири́ска (iríska)hard candy
Thai บัตเตอร์สกอตช์, บัตเตอร์สกอตช์
- บัตเตอร์สกอตช์ (bàt-dtə̂ə-sà-gɔ́t)hard candy
- บัตเตอร์สกอตช์ (bàt-dtə̂ə-sà-gɔ́t)sauce or syrup made of similar ingredients
Welsh cyflaith menyn
- cyflaith menynhard candy
Yiddish איריסקע
- איריסקע (iriske)hard candy
Cite this entry
butterscotch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butterscotch
“butterscotch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butterscotch. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “butterscotch,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butterscotch.
Source: butterscotch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.