jelly. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

jelly

SYLLABICATION:	jel·ly
PRONUNCIATION:	jl
NOUN:	Inflected forms: pl. jel·lies 1. A soft, semisolid food substance with a resilient consistency, made by the setting of a liquid containing pectin or gelatin or by the addition of gelatin to a liquid, especially such a substance made of fruit juice containing pectin boiled with sugar. 2. Something, such as a petroleum ointment, having the consistency of a soft, semisolid food substance. 3. A shapeless, pulpy mass: The hero's laser zapped the monster, turning it to jelly. 4. Something, such as a body part, that has suddenly become limp or enervated: Her knees turned to jelly when she learned she won first prize.
VERB:	Inflected forms: jel·lied, jel·ly·ing, jel·lies
TRANSITIVE VERB:	To cause to have the consistency of jelly.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To acquire the consistency of jelly. See synonyms at coagulate.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English gelee, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin ^*gelta, from Latin, feminine past participle of gelre, to freeze. See gel- in Appendix I.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.