Molasses is a thick dark syrup left when sugar is refined. Blackstrap molasses, a spoonful of molasses, dark as molasses.
It is what remains after the sugar crystals are taken out, and the darkest grade is bitter and full of minerals. Slow as molasses in January is the American comparison. In Britain the similar product is called black treacle.
1nounmolassesA thick dark syrup left when sugar is refined.
“Add a spoonful of molasses to give the bread a dark colour and a rich taste.”
molasses is a syrup.
Portuguese melacos comes from Latin mellaceum, a honey-like thing, from mel, honey.
Proto-Indo-European
*mélit
Latin
mellacium — must, honey-sweet thing
Spanish
melazos
Portuguese
melaços
English, today
molasses
Built from
From Portuguese melaços or Spanish melazos, from Latin mellacium (“must, honey-sweet thing”), from mel (“honey”) + -āceus (“-aceous”) + -ium, q.v. Some alternative forms derived or influenced by Spanish melaza and French mélasse, conjectured to derive from unattested Latin mellacea, from mel + -ācea.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA