Gumdrop

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɡʌm.dɹɒp/

Definitions

1. A colorful, chewy confection that is usually shaped like an orb and coated in sugar, often made from gelatin or similar ingredients and enjoyed as a sweet delicacy
2. A small, gelatinous candy that features a sugary exterior and comes in various fruity flavors, commonly shaped like a sphere or dome
3. A sugary, chewy candy typically shaped as a sphere and made from gelatin, offering a variety of fruity flavors and often brightly colored

Etymology: Gumdrops take their name from two older English words that were already in use long before the candy existed. "Gum" was the sticky substance that oozes from certain trees, and "drop" meant a small rounded lump or globule of something, so a gumdrop was originally a little blob of tree gum. The sweets grew out of that sense: once confectioners began shaping sugar and gum-based mixtures into small rounded pieces, the existing compound described them naturally. The word is a plain compound with no coined inventor or famous first use behind it. Its two parts were combined in English, and the candy took the name from the shape and the sticky gum base. Only the sweet's later form, the gelatin-based chewy version, shifted what "gum" meant in the name, so that the candy is not literally made from tree sap.

Synonyms: candy, sweet, confection, treat, delicacy

Antonyms: vegetable, savoury, unappetizing, bitter, unsweetened