noun
marmalade
MAH-muh-layd
noun
1
A citrus preserve made with the peel as well as the fruit, giving it a slightly bitter edge, traditionally made from Seville oranges.
"She spread a thick layer of marmalade on her toast."
"His grandmother's homemade marmalade won a prize at the village fete."
2
Informally, a cat with orange or ginger fur.
"Their marmalade cat sunbathed on the windowsill all afternoon."
How to Use Marmalade
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA jam-like citrus spread that includes bits of peel, or informally, an orange-coloured cat.
Common mistake
Marmalade specifically refers to citrus fruit preserves with peel; other fruit spreads without peel are usually just called jam.
Common pairings
orange marmalade
toast and marmalade
marmalade cat
Word Forms
marmaladed past tense, marmalades plural, marmalades singular
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Etymology
Traces back through French and Portuguese to a Latin word for a sweet apple, ultimately from Greek "meli" (honey) plus "melon" (apple) — the word originally meant quince jam.