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Continuing on in our "Cat word of the month" series, we now look at "marmalade". (For "tabby", see this post.)
Marmalade was originally a solid jelly dessert made of quince puree, rather than a citrus fruit jam as we now know it. The word came into English in the late 1400s via French from Portuguese marmelada, a derivative of marmelo ‘quince’. The Portuguese word came ultimately from melímēlon,
a Greek term, meaning literally ‘honey-apple’, which was applied to the
fruit of an apple tree grafted on to a quince
For the first couple of centuries of the word's existence in English, it continued to be quince jam, but then a wide variety of fruit started to be used: plums, damsons, and even strawberries, dates, and carrots, but still no citrus fruit. This is still seen in other European languages, such as German, where "Marmelade" simply means "jam". Citrus fruit, and particularly oranges, became the default ingredient in "marmalade" only in the 1800s, but it then took over the English breakfast table with a vengeance. By the 1920s people began to see a connection between orange-peel-flecked preserves and striped orange cats.
There is a folk etymology about "marmalade". The story goes that Mary, Queen of Scots fell ill and was served the delectable quince dessert to fortify her. As a result it was dubbed "Marie malade" ("sick Mary"). The less said about this fanciful folk etymology the better!
For tips on how to make "marmalade cat" cookies, see this post: http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2012/12/when-smart-cookie-has-had-biscuit.html
Did you know that almost all orange cats are male? Thus one often hears them referred to as "ginger toms". Next up in our "cat word of the month" series: ginger.
Happy summer!
For the first couple of centuries of the word's existence in English, it continued to be quince jam, but then a wide variety of fruit started to be used: plums, damsons, and even strawberries, dates, and carrots, but still no citrus fruit. This is still seen in other European languages, such as German, where "Marmelade" simply means "jam". Citrus fruit, and particularly oranges, became the default ingredient in "marmalade" only in the 1800s, but it then took over the English breakfast table with a vengeance. By the 1920s people began to see a connection between orange-peel-flecked preserves and striped orange cats.
There is a folk etymology about "marmalade". The story goes that Mary, Queen of Scots fell ill and was served the delectable quince dessert to fortify her. As a result it was dubbed "Marie malade" ("sick Mary"). The less said about this fanciful folk etymology the better!
For tips on how to make "marmalade cat" cookies, see this post: http://katherinebarber.blogspot.ca/2012/12/when-smart-cookie-has-had-biscuit.html
Did you know that almost all orange cats are male? Thus one often hears them referred to as "ginger toms". Next up in our "cat word of the month" series: ginger.
Happy summer!
:)
ReplyDeleteThank you!