jelly English · revision 39697

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1381, Diuersa Servicia|origins=ine-pro *gel-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈd͡ʒɛli/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|gelee|t=frost; jelly]],^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(ODE 2010)^(Hoad 1986) also [[m|xno|gelé]],^(OED 2026) a noun use of the feminine past participle of [[m|fro|geler|t=to freeze, congeal]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Skeat 1911) This goes back to [[la-vul|*gelāta|t=something frozen]],^(AHD 2024)^(Ayto 2005) recorded in post-classical Latin in an 8th-century glossary,^(OED 2026) the feminine of [[m|la|gelātus|t=frozen, congealed]], past participle of [[m|la|gelō|t=to freeze]],^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024) from [[m|la|gelū|t=frost]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(ODE 2010)^(Weekley 1921) from [[ine-pro|*gel-|t=cold; to freeze]].^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline) The same Latin verb gave [[congeal]],^(Ayto 2005)^(Hoad 1986) and the same root [[gelatin]].^(Cresswell 2021) Johnson (1755) derived it from [[m|la|gelatinum]] and preferred the spelling with ''g-''.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A semi-solid food made by boiling and cooling a liquid that contains gelatin, used as a dish of meat or fish set in aspic: 1381, in the cookery text ''Diuersa Servicia''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The French word had meant "frost" since about 1100, and is recorded for jelly as a food only from the late 14th century.^(OED 2026)^(AND)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Middle Ages ''jelly'' was a savoury dish of meat or fish set in aspic.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) Sweet, fruit-flavoured jellies appear later: the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins finds the first references in the mid 18th century, and the OED's first example of the brightly coloured dessert is from Parson Woodforde's diary of 1791.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as "Any thing brought to a state of glutinousness and viscosity" and as a sweetmeat made by boiling sugar.^(Johnson 1755) From about 1400 it was used of any jelly-like substance,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and later for the jellyfish (a1668),^(OED 2026) for gelatin itself (1800), and for gels used in microscopy (1852), as lubricants (1877) and as contraceptives (1922).^(OED 2026) The figurative use, of something that lacks firmness, is recorded from 1603, in Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', and is now common in ''turn to jelly''.^(OED 2026) The verb followed: the OED records it from 1559,^(OED 2026) Merriam-Webster from 1590 and Barnhart from 1601, in Holland's translation of Pliny.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) Its back-formation [[jell]] began in American English in the 19th century.^(Hoad 1986)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1381 – a savoury food set with gelatin, such as meat or fish in aspic.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a1400 – any jelly-like substance.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1559 – verb, to make into jelly; 1570, to set as jelly.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1603 – something lacking firmness (Shakespeare).^(OED 2026)

+ * a1668 – a jellyfish.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1709 – a small glass dish for serving jelly.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1791 – a sweet fruit-flavoured dessert.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1800 – gelatin.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1922 – a contraceptive gel.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sweet, clear, fruit-flavoured [[dessert]] set with [[gelatin|alt=gelatine]], which wobbles when moved.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A clear [[preserve]] made by boiling fruit juice with sugar, spread like jam: ''toast with redcurrant jelly''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A savoury dish set with gelatine or a gelatinous stock; [[aspic]]: ''eels in jelly''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Any substance with the soft, elastic consistency of jelly.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (informal) A [[jellyfish]].^(OED 2026)

+ # A gel used as a [[lubricant]] or [[contraceptive]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To set or cause to set as jelly; to [[congeal]]: ''The stock had jellied overnight.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To set food in jelly, as in ''jellied eels''.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[jellylike]]

+ * [[jellify]]

+ * [[jellyfish]]

+ * [[comb jelly]]

+ * [[jelly bean]]

+ * [[royal jelly]]

+ * [[jelly doughnut]]

+ * [[jelly fungus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gel]]

+ * [[gelatin]]

+ * [[congeal]]

+ * [[cold]]

+ * [[gelid]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Collins notes that the dessert is sold in the United States and Canada under the trademark Jell-O.^(Collins 2023) Two unrelated adjectives share the spelling: a Scots ''jelly'' meaning "fine, worthy, agreeable", recorded from 1568 and apparently a form of [[jolly]],^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898) and the slang ''jelly'', "jealous", formed from the first syllable of [[jealous]] and recorded from 1906.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}