candy English · revision 6197

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1274}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkæn.di/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is short for [[sugar candy]], Middle English sugre candy,^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) [[bor|fro|sucre candi|t=crystallized sugar]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and partly from Anglo-Latin candi.^(Barnhart 1988) The French is a partial translation of Old Italian [[m|it|zucchero candi]],^(MWU 2024) and candi comes from Arabic qandī, crystallized into sugar, from Persian qand, cane sugar,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) probably from [[sa|खण्ड|tr=khaṇḍa|t=piece, sugar lump]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart and MWU take the Sanskrit to be of Proto-Munda origin, Etymonline perhaps Dravidian.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Crystallized sugar: 1274 in Barnhart and the late 13th century in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the OED dates candy, crystallized sugar made by repeated boiling, to about 1420.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb, to preserve fruit by boiling with sugar, is from 1533, perhaps by influence of French candir, since sucre candi was understood as a past participle;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the figurative sense, to sweeten or make pleasant, is from 1592,^(OED 1989) and to encrust with something crystalline, such as hoarfrost, from 1607.^(OED 1989) [[candied|alt=Candied]] is from 1600.^(Barnhart 1988) The sense gradually broadened, especially in the United States, until by the late 19th century candy was any confection with sugar as its base; in Britain these are [[sweet|alt=sweets]], and candy tends to mean only sweets of boiled sugar in bright stripes.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) A candy pull, a gathering of young people to make and eat candy, is from 1865.^(Etymonline) Collins records the informal ''arm candy'', an attractive but superficial companion.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1274 – crystallized sugar.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1533 – the verb, to candy fruit.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1592 – to sweeten, figuratively.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1600 – candied.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1865 – candy pull.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 19th century – any sugar confection, in the US.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly North America)'' Sweet food made with sugar, often with fruit, nuts or [[chocolate]]; sweets collectively, or a single piece.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Crystallized sugar made by repeated boiling.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cook, preserve or coat with sugar or [[syrup]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To reduce to sugar crystals.^(AHD)

+ # To make pleasant or agreeable; to [[sweeten]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[candylike]]

+ * [[candygram]]

+ * [[candy-ass]]

+ * [[candy-striped]]

+ * [[candy floss]]

+ * [[candy stripe]]

+ * [[candy striper]]

+ * [[cotton candy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sugar candy]]

+ * [[candied]]

+ * [[sugar]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different candy, a weight used in southern and western India, is from Marathi khaṇḍī (1618).^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) In Aberdeen dialect candy also meant glue.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}