butterscotch

[ buht-er-skoch ]

/ ˈbʌt ərˌskɒtʃ /

noun

a flavor produced in puddings, frostings, ice cream, etc., by combining brown sugar, vanilla extract, and butter with other ingredients.

a hard, brittle taffy made with butter, brown sugar, etc.

a golden brown color.

adjective

having the flavor of butterscotch.

Nearby words

buttermilk sky, butternut, butternut pumpkin, butternut squash, butterpaste, butterscotch, butterweed, butterwort, butterworth, buttery, butthead

Origin of butterscotch

First recorded in 1850–55; earlier also butterscot; the 2nd element of the compound is unexplained

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for butterscotch

The concoction, dubbed Scotchy Scotch Scotch, consists of a butterscotch ice cream with butterscotch swirls.
Anchorman 2’s PR Blitz: Dodge Durangos, Daft Punk, Rob Ford’s Campaign Song, and Whiskey|Marlow Stern|November 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There were rich shades of butterscotch and bold hues of purple.
Paris Fall Fashion Week Ends With Vuitton and Kanye|Robin Givhan|March 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Chocolate chips or butterscotch chips, walnuts or pecans, coffee or peanut butter or dried fruit…yes, the list goes on and on.
An Unbeatable Brownie|Cookstr.com|November 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST
His true sphere in a Sunday school was in the infant department; where, with a packet of butterscotch and "Hush-a-bye, Baby!"
Cleg Kelly, Arab of the City|S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

The cream pies were on a stick, and coated with chocolate, butterscotch, and vanilla with coconut.
The Blue Ghost Mystery|Harold Leland Goodwin
"I'm no saying Jacinta's no fascinating, an' I've seen ye looking at her like a laddie eyeing a butterscotch," he said.
For Jacinta|Harold Bindloss
And the candy-store was next door; the butterscotch they sold there!
The Woman from Outside|Hulbert Footner
Even Doncaster butterscotch is more familiar than Doncaster piety, but the Church is particularly active here, nevertheless.
The Great North Road: London to York|Charles G. Harper

British Dictionary definitions for butterscotch

butterscotch

/ (ˈbʌtəˌskɒtʃ) /

noun

a kind of hard brittle toffee made with butter, brown sugar, etc

a flavouring made from these ingredients
(as modifier)butterscotch icing

Word Origin for butterscotch

C19: perhaps first made in Scotland, or perhaps from scotch 1 (sense 3), 'to cut or score', because it was originally cut with a knife into small pieces

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012