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treacle

Etymology and origin of the English word treacle

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɹiː.kəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English triacle (“antidote for poison”),[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French triacle (“antidote”),[2][3][4] from Latin theriaca,[2][3][4][5][6] from Ancient Greek θηριακή (thēriakḗ, “antidote against poisonous animals”),[2][3][4][5] the feminine of thēriakós “of wild animals”,[2][3][4][5][6] from thēríon, a diminutive of thḗr “wild animal”.[2][3][4][5][6] Etymonline adds an intermediate Vulgar Latin *triacula.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A medicinal compound used as an antidote against poison, especially snakebite.[4][7][3]

Semantic evolution

From the antidote it came to mean any sovereign remedy.[4][7] The sense “molasses”, the uncrystallized syrup left from sugar refining, is recorded from 1694,[7][3][4] perhaps from its resemblance to the medicinal syrup or its supposed medicinal properties;[4] Barnhart links it to the use of molasses as a laxative.[3] From its sweetness came the sense of something cloyingly sweet or sentimental, recorded from 1771.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – triacle, the antidote;[4] the OED and Barnhart give 1340, and RHWU 1275–1325.[7][3][6]
  • 1544 – any sovereign remedy.[7]
  • 1694 – molasses.[7][3]
  • 1731–3 – a sweet syrup obtained from trees and plants.[7]
  • 1771 – cloying sweetness or sentiment.[3]
  • 1838 – verb, to smear or sweeten with treacle.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (chiefly British) Molasses, or golden syrup.
  2. Cloying sentimentality.
  3. (obsolete) A medicinal compound formerly used as an antidote to poison.

Verb

  1. To smear with treacle, especially to catch moths.

Word family

  • treacly
  • theriac

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Treacle.” Etymologically, 8 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/treacle. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .