molasses

[ muh-las-iz ]

noun

1. a thick syrup produced during the refining of sugar or from sorghum, varying from light to dark brown in color.

molasses

/ məˈlæsɪz /

noun

1. the thick brown uncrystallized bitter syrup obtained from sugar during refining
2. a dark viscous syrup obtained during the refining of sugar Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)treacle

Word History and Origins

Origin of molasses¹

1575–85; earlier molassos, molasso ( e ) s < Portuguese melaços, plural of melaço (< Late Latin mellācium half-boiled new wine, for *mellāceum, neuter of *mellāceus honeylike, equivalent to mell-, stem of mel honey + -āceus -aceous )

Word History and Origins

Origin of molasses¹

C16: from Portuguese melaço, from Late Latin mellāceum must, from Latin mel honey

Example Sentences

That laser effectively chills the strontium atoms into optical molasses — a cloud of atoms that are almost completely frozen in place.

From Science News For Students

That’s the thing we do — bringing that sweet and sour note through sumac or pomegranate molasses and tamarind.

From Eater

Flavorwise, the ginger, cinnamon, and other spices are present but not overpowering, with both the molasses and the brown sugar coming through for sweetness.

From Popular-Science

Inside, the store stuffs ricotta, molasses, mozzarella, eggs, and honey-roasted pumpkin, a mix that brings out the earthiness of the season’s most conspicuous squash.

From Outside Online

I used a straightforward chewy molasses cookie recipe from Bon Appétit circa 2013.

From Eater

But Chucktown has been molasses-slow to acknowledge the brave legacy of Waring.

From The Daily Beast

After half a season of molasses-y, misdirected character development, the Javadi play got Homeland's pages turning again.

From The Daily Beast

Molasses in the gears of a Democratic EPA could be a worthy goal for many Republicans these days.

From The Daily Beast

Mix soy sauce, molasses, broth, salt, and sesame oil together, along with 1-2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid.

From The Daily Beast

This is the kind of thing that makes for backyard fence chit chat, and it can stick like molasses.

From The Daily Beast

Well, it burst one day, and a little matter of a million gallons of molasses went exploring through the streets.

From Project Gutenberg

A big tank that the city used to have for a reservoir had been bought by a sugar company and turned into a storage for molasses.

From Project Gutenberg

Our ration at this time consisted of raw corn-meal and sorghum molasses, without salt or any provision of utensils for cooking.

From Project Gutenberg

With this permission the sugar and molasses were soon simmering in a saucepan, sending forth a pleasant fragrance.

From Project Gutenberg

Women had bags of flour in their arms, baskets of salt and pails of molasses, or sides of bacon.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• maple syrup