jelly

[jel-ee]

noun

plural

jellies 

1. a food preparation of a soft, elastic consistency due to the presence of gelatin, pectin, etc., especially fruit juice boiled down with sugar and used as a sweet spread for bread and toast, as a filling for cakes or doughnuts, etc.

2. any substance having the consistency of jelly.

3. Chiefly British.,  a fruit-flavored gelatin dessert.

4. a plastic sandal or shoe.

verb (used with or without object)

jellied, jellying 

1. to bring or come to the consistency of jelly.

adjective

1. containing or made, spread, or topped with jelly or syrup; jellied.

   jelly apples.

jelly

¹

/ ˈdʒɛlɪ /

noun

1. US and Canadian trademark: Jell-o. a fruit-flavoured clear dessert set with gelatine

2. a preserve made from the juice of fruit boiled with sugar and used as jam

3. a savoury food preparation set with gelatine or with a strong gelatinous stock and having a soft elastic consistency

   calf's-foot jelly

4. anything having the consistency of jelly

5. informal,  a coloured gelatine filter that can be fitted in front of a stage or studio light

verb

1. to jellify

jelly

²

/ ˈdʒɛlɪ /

noun

1. a slang name for gelignite

Other Word Forms

• jellylike adjective
• jelly-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jelly¹

1350–1400; Middle English gely < Old French gelee frozen jelly < Medieval Latin gelāta frozen, equivalent to Latin gel- freeze + -āta -ate ¹; gel, cold

Word History and Origins

Origin of jelly¹

C14: from Old French gelee frost, jelly, from geler to set hard, from Latin gelāre, from gelu frost

Example Sentences

I ordered my usual: fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, candied yams and a biscuit slathered in grape jelly butter.

From Salon

A heady mix of oxygen, Pringles and jelly beans helped propel Kirsty to the "death zone", where oxygen levels are insufficient to support human life, and the summit.

From BBC

Stores sell ready-to-eat foods such as sausages, fishcakes, chicken and sweet treats like bread, jelly and desserts.

From Los Angeles Times

In the midst of a mass – or "smack" – of Pacific sea nettles, Mr Pace coated any skin not covered by his wetsuit with petroleum jelly to protect himself from stings.

From BBC

He said that he was overwhelmed during his first reunion tour performance and that his “legs turned to jelly about halfway through the second song.”

From Salon

Related Words

• gelatin