caramel

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See also: Caramel

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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.

Pronunciation

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Usage notes

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Both the two-syllable and the three-syllable pronunciations are very common in all regions of the United States. The three-syllable pronunciation is more common than the two-syllable one in the South (excluding western Texas), northern New Jersey, eastern New York, and New England, while the two-syllable one is more common in other regions.[5]

Noun

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caramel (countable and uncountable, plural caramels)

  1. (uncountable) A smooth, chewy, sticky confection made by heating sugar and other ingredients until the sugars polymerize and become sticky.
    • 2004, Harold McGee, chapter 12, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:
      The usual technique for making caramel is to mix table sugar with some water, then heat until the water has boiled off and the molten sugar colors.
  2. (countable) A (sometimes hardened) piece of this confection.
    • 2004, Harold McGee, chapter 12, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:
      Caramel has a rich, complex flavor and consistency, viscous and sticky and creamy all at once, that works well with most sweets and fruits, with coffee and chocolate, and even with salt: the prized caramels of Brittany are made with a notable dose of sea salt.
  3. A yellow-brown color, like that of caramel.
    caramel:  

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Adjective

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caramel (not comparable)

  1. Of a yellow-brown color.
    • 2001, Nicole Sconiers, California Schemin': The Black Woman's Guide to Surviving in LA:
      Every time I saw this caramel cutie, she was working on a new proposal or business plan or flyer to promote herself and her event coordinating business.

Verb

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caramel (third-person singular simple present caramels, present participle caramelling or carameling, simple past and past participle caramelled or carameled)

  1. (transitive, cooking, dated) To caramelize.
    • 1900, M. M. Mallock, The Economics of Modern Cookery: Or, A Younger Son's Cookery Book:
      To turn out, place the dish over the mould, and invert both together, when, if the caramelling has been complete, the pudding should slip out without any difficulty at all.

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “caramel”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.: /ˈkarəmɛl/, /ˈkarəm(ə)l/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “caramel”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 “caramel”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  4. ^ “caramel” (US) / “caramel” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.: /ˈkerəˌmel/, /ˈkɑrməl/
  5. ^ Dialect Survey map 1, showing that both pronunciations are common in all regions, and map 2, showing which regions the di- and tri-syllabic pronunciations predominate in

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese caramelo, from Latin calamellus. Doublet of caramell.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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caramel m (plural caramels)

  1. caramel (sticky confection made by heating sugar)
  2. candy, sweet
    • 2016 November 9, Idoya Noain, “¿Què serà del nostre país?”, in El Periódico‎[1]:
      “És com si a Hillary Clinton li haguessin ficat la mà a les butxaques i li haguessin tret els caramels.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

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Further reading

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese caramelo, probably from Late Latin calamellus, and therefore doublet of the inherited chalumeau.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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caramel m (plural caramels)

  1. caramel, fudge

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French caramel.

Noun

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caramel n (plural carameluri)

  1. caramel

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative caramel caramelul carameluri caramelurile
genitive-dative caramel caramelului carameluri caramelurilor
vocative caramelule caramelurilor
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