caramel

UK: /ˈkærəməl/ US: /ˈkærəməl/ ,(kar′ə məl, -mel′, kär′məl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

car•a•mel /ˈkærəməl/   n. 

1. Food a liquid made by cooking sugar until it darkens, used for flavoring food:
   [uncountable] The candy apple had caramel baked onto it.
2. Food [countable] a chewy candy made from sugar, butter, milk, etc.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

car•a•mel  (kar′ə məl, -mel′, kär′məl), n. 

1. Food a liquid made by cooking sugar until it changes color, used for coloring and flavoring food.
2. Food a kind of chewy candy, commonly in small blocks, made from sugar, butter, milk, etc.
3. Food a yellowish brown or tan color.

• Late Latin calamellus little reed (by  dissimilation), equivalent. to calam(us) reed (see calamus) + -ellus diminutive suffix; meaning changed by association with Medieval Latin cannamella, canna mellis, etc., sugar cane, equivalent. to Latin canna cane + mel honey (genitive mellis)
• Spanish or Portuguese caramelo
• French
• 1715–25

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

caramel / ˈkærəməl -ˌmɛl/ noun

1. burnt sugar, used for colouring and flavouring food
2. a chewy sweet made from sugar, butter, milk, etc

Etymology: 18th Century: from French, from Spanish caramelo, of uncertain origin