Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “marmalade” come from?

Marmalade comes from Middle French marmelade, whose earlier origin is not documented in the provided chain.

marmalade (English): Citrus fruit variant of jam but distinguished by...

Definitions

  1. Citrus fruit variant of jam but distinguished by...

Ancestry of “marmalade”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchmarmelade—
2Portuguesemarmeladaquince jam, quince cheese
3Galicianmarmeloquince
4Old Portuguesemarmelo—
5Latinmelimelumhoney apple, sweet apple
6Ancient Greekμελίμηλον—
7Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
8Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

Words derived from “marmalade”

  • marmalady
  • marmaladey
  • マーマレード
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →