When the term molasses was first introduced in the English language during the 1500s, it referred to a specific alcoholic beverage in a Scottish dialect. It wasn’t until the late nineteenth century that it took on the modern definition we know today in North America. The word was derived from the Portuguese term melaços, which was originally plural but was mistakenly assumed to be singular, leading to the plural-sounding ending for an uncountable noun. Melaços can be traced back to the Latin word mellaceus, meaning “honey-like,” with the root mel referring to “honey” (stemming from the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction melit, also meaning “honey”). The usage of the term molasses peaked between 1919 and 1941, likely due to its use as a sugar substitute during times of scarcity.
