Saccharines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Referring to substances that are sweet-tasting and often used as sugar substitutes in food and beverages
2. Describing something that is excessively sweet or sentimental, typically in a disingenuous manner
3. Characterizing compounds that mimic the sweetness of sugar but have little to no calories, often found in diet products

Etymology: Before it described syrupy sweetness, the Greek ancestor of this word meant something gritty. Ancient Greek "sákkharon" named a syrupy liquid from bamboo or reeds, and the word traveled from Sanskrit "śárkarā," which meant ground or candied sugar, but also gravel and grit. The same root gave Pali "sakkharā," whose senses included sugar, granule, and potsherd. The English form comes through New Latin "saccharum," meaning sugar, to which the suffix "-ine," meaning "of or pertaining to," was attached. The adjective "saccharine" therefore began as a plain technical term describing things made of or containing sugar. The sense of excessive sweetness came later, when the word was applied figuratively to manner and speech. The plural "saccharines" here is the plural of that adjective, used as a noun for things that are overly sugary or sentimental.

Synonyms: sweeteners, sugars, syrups, glucose, fructose

Antonyms: bitterness, sourness, acidity, tartness, harshness