Where does “caramel” come from?
caramel (Catalan) comes from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese caramelo, from Latin calamellus, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
caramel (Catalan): caramel; candy, sweet
Ancestry of “caramel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | caramelo | candy; caramel |
| 2 | Portuguese | caramelo | caramel; candy made of caramel; any candy |
| 3 | Latin | calamellus | A little reed or pen |
| 4 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 5 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -elos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |