mélasse

Forms

mélasse f (plural mélasses)^[1] Earlier spellings mellaci (1441), meslache (1508) and mellasse (1588).^[2][3]

Etymology

According to the TLFi and Rey it is borrowed from Medieval Latin *mellacea, a plural meaning the syrupy residue that will not crystallize when cane sugar is refined, a sense that arose in the Middle Ages as sugar cane spread.^[2][3][4] That word comes from Late Latin mellacium (“wine boiled down by half”), Classical Latin mellāceum, the neuter of the adjective mellāceus, a derivative of mel (“honey”).^[2][3] The first record, mellaci, is probably translated from Italian.^[2][3] Compare Catalan melassa and Old Occitan melassa (1467).^[2]

Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and Littré instead take it from Spanish melaza, a derivative of the Latin word for honey;^[5][6][7] Rey mentions this as another hypothesis.^[3] The Grand Larousse sees the spelling meslache as influenced by mesler, the old form of mêler.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1441, as mellaci, in the treatise of Emmanuel Piloti, for the syrupy residue left after sugar crystallizes.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert date the form mélasse to 1664.^[5][6] Probably in the 19th century, by likeness of thickness and look, the word came to mean a thick fog, and figuratively an awkward situation one cannot get out of (1871).^[3] Tomber dans la mélasse is recorded from 1878^[2][3] and être dans la mélasse from 1889.^[8]

Timeline

• 1441 – Mellaci appears in Emmanuel Piloti's treatise.^[2][3]
• 1467 – Old Occitan melassa is recorded at Avignon.^[2]
• 1508 – The spelling meslache is found in the statutes of the apothecaries.^[2]
• 1588 – The spelling mellasse appears.^[2][3]
• 1664 – First record of the form mélasse.^[5][8]
• 1871 – Used for an awkward situation.^[3]
• 1878 – Rigaud records tomber dans la mélasse.^[2]
• 1889 – Larchey records être dans la mélasse.^[8][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Molasses, treacle: the thick syrup left after sugar is crystallized from cane or beet.^[10][11][1]
2. (familiar) A thick fog, or mud.^[10][12]
3. (familiar) A confused, muddled mixture.^[10][11]
4. (figurative, familiar) A predicament: être dans la mélasse, tomber dans la mélasse.^[10][12][2]

Word family

• mélassique

Related words

• miel
• Latin mel

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 680b
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)