- candy
- late 13c., "crystalized sugar," from O.Fr. çucre candi "sugar candy," ultimately from Arabic qandi, from Pers. qand "cane sugar," probably from Skt. khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian (cf. Tamil kantu "candy," kattu "to harden, condense"). As a verb, attested from 1530s; hence, candied (c.1600).