English
jelly
Jelly comes from Middle English gele ‘a jelly made from the stock of meats or a meal…’, from Old French gelee ‘cold spell’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-‘cold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgelū‘frost’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgeloas gelāre‘to freeze, cause to congeal’
- Early Medieval Latinmoderngelāta
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400gelee‘cold spell’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gele‘a jelly made from the stock of meats or a meal it is part of’
- Englishearliest quotation 1821jelly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-‘cold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgelū‘frost’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgeloas gelāre‘to freeze, cause to congeal’
- Early Medieval Latinmoderngelāta
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400gelee‘cold spell’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gele‘a jelly made from the stock of meats or a meal it is part of’
- Englishearliest quotation 1821jelly
Earliest quotation: 1821, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine: “Sam floored him perpetually, and beat his face to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘cold’
children, child, cold, clean, cloud, globe, cluster, chill, colt, clout, clot, clough, glebe, ganglion, clod, globus, klutz, globulin, 48 more
through Latin gelū ‘frost’
through Latin gelo ‘to freeze, cause to congeal’
Today it means
noun A dessert made by boiling gelatine (or a plant-based alternative such as agar or carrageenan), sugar and some flavouring (often derived from fruit) and allowing it to set.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gel- / jelly