Etymograph

English

jab molassie

Jab molassie comes from Antillean Creole jab ‘devil’, from French mélasse ‘molasses’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mélit ‘honey’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mélit‘honey’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*melireconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmel‘honey’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mellāceumas mellācea‘must’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentmélasse‘molasses’
  6. French, derivedc. 1600–presentdiable‘devil’
  7. Antillean Creolemodernjab‘devil’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1972jab molassie

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mélit‘honey’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*melireconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmel‘honey’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mellāceumas mellācea‘must’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentmélasse‘molasses’
  6. French, derivedc. 1600–presentdiable‘devil’
  7. Antillean Creolemodernjab‘devil’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1972jab molassie

Earliest quotation: 1972, Errol Hill, The Trinidad Carnival: Mandate for a National Theatre: “A second masquerade character used in the play was…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mélit ‘honey’

mulch, 4 more

through Latin mel ‘honey’

mel, molasses, mell, 9 more

Today it means

noun A traditional character in the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival dressed as a devil, mostly naked and covered in molasses or grease and a colourful dye.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mélit / jab molassie

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