I mean, “marshmallow” has a more interesting derivation than most of the other words I’ve seen so far.
Althaea officinalis, the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient Egyptian times evolved into today's marshmallow treat.
I find this really interesting especially considered I never gave much thought to how they were produced. I guess I assumed they were just sugar and some other common ingredients.
I don't think modern marshmellows contain any marsh mellow. They are usually just water, sugar and gelatine. They are easy to make at home, fun project if you have kids
Let me blow your mind: Danes don’t use a sponge for washing up. They would consider it very unhygienic and the traditional Anglo-Saxon washing up sponge as something you’d use to clean the toilet with.
Instead they use a brush on a sort of angled stick.
Im sorry to correct you, but beaked beast translates to næbdyr, which is a creature of itself... typically accompanied by two creative boys, with oddly shaped heads, called phineas ans ferb.
The translation of fjerkræ is probably closer to feathered beast
I'm German and that is bullshit. Never heard of mäusespeck, everyone just calls them marshmallows and they are labeled as marshmallows in the store
EDIT: I was made aware that the Problem seems be that im not a boomer. 30 years ago, when i wasnt alive, they seemed to be called this. In my WG there are people over 30 though and they also never heard of this (hessen)
I'm German too and we totally used Mäusespeck in the 80s/90s. I guess you're just younger, today people know what marshmallows are (and speak better English in general).
I dunno man, that word has some fun archaic meanings based on something being "tatters" or "clouds". https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hattara I particularly like "A female forest troll or race of trolls associated with screaming." I think it's called that for the "cloud" meaning.
You're more right than you realize, and not so archaic really. The texture of clouds, or even clouds themselves, mostly smaller, frizzy kind of clouds are called "pilvenhattara" where pilven is a possesive form of 'pilvi' - 'cloud' and hattara is kind of an abstract descriptive word, at least today. The translation of 'rag, tatter' is a bit more complex and at least a little unrelated. There might be some historic connection, since 'hattara' is kind of a descriptive word that describes (at least for quite a long time) a kind of specific type of clouds appearance, more so a small cloud that kind of just falls apart. It's more like a frayed rag and the 'hattara' specifically pertains to the raggedness/frayed part - like the actual physical/visual quality of it being kind of frailed or jagged, like a cloud and so it does relate to clouds.
Hattara as a mythological thing is a different thing itself and again, might have some historic connection - my best guess would be that the kind of creature it means is something that is kind of 'frayed' like a vision or a fog ora cloud or something and is only seen for a moment. I'm unfamiliar with that one, though I've read a ton about folk beliefs and mythlogy here.
I watch a lot of hockey, so I hear a lot of Finnish names. I find it fun that you can so easily guess that a name or word is Finnish, and hattara is no exception.
It actually sounds similar to "Hatakka", the last name of a Finnish player.
HK. Yeah, if you asked me out of the blue what 棉花糖 is I would've said cotton candy first but I also had a vague memory of calling marshmallow that too. I had to confirm it with Wikipedia lol.
No it’s the same. Then again I can’t recall seeing any marshmallow on the shelves when I visit home. I don’t think it’s a common snack in Taiwan but I could be wrong!
I’m pretty sure alot of languages just imported marshmallow.
I come from the german speaking part of Switzerland and I don’t think I ever heard someone actually use the word “Mäusespeck” although it certainly would he understood I think. Everybody around me calls them marshmallows.
For me "Mäusespeck" are smaller marshmallows that usually come in white and pink and in different shapes. Sometimes the shape of a mouse. Marshmallows are the larger white and cylindrical or cube ones that you put on a stick to roast on a campfire before eating.
In Dutch it's also marshmallows, but also commonly spek (bacon), spekjes (bacon pieces) or spekkies (in this case it's clear you're not talking about bacon).
Never heard of that in German. It's just marshmallows with a generic German accent instead. But it's cool to learn something new. Which region says that, OP?
All the regions, just lost in time. It was sold by Haribo under that name in the 80s, it's why you can still get "süße Mäuse" or "weiße Mäuse" from Haribo and why it's generally often presented in mouse-form.
Marshmallow only became more popular when younger generations spoke English more often.
Funny bc I'm not sure we'll called it guimauve in french. Will say it's made out of guimauve and reserve the term guimauve for candy made the same way but with other form and colour.
Also, it's unfortunate that guimauves, including marshmallow, are not gelatinased from marsh mallow roots anymore. It use to be vegan.
So it's not using the idea of "mauve" as in the color in the name but instead the idea of "mallow/malva" as in the plant. In english those ended up being two different words with the same root. The mistletoe actually was originally refering to hibiscus in the latin, but changed. Origin of the confectuary from the marsh mallow plant comes from Ancient Egypt, so this is actually all descended from Latin/Greek
In Norwegian marshmallow is just marshmallow, but if something has marshmallow bits or marshmallow like properties (like say the white stuff in a bag of Haribos) it's called "skum", which means foam
Here in Mexico (Spanish) is known as Bombón. A quick Google search says that apparently comes from the repetition of the french word 'bon'
It is worth to mention that, despite most of the countries in Latin America speak Spanish, things have different names in different countries, even if it's the same language.
According to Wikipedia, marshmallows are also known as
nube, esponjita, malvavisco, fringuel, jamón o suncho
In English we call it "Marshmallow".
We call it the same in Canada! That's crazy!
Same in American!
Same in Albanian Sign Language!
Get oot. That can't be right.
What a mysterious and beautiful language.
I mean, “marshmallow” has a more interesting derivation than most of the other words I’ve seen so far.
I find this really interesting especially considered I never gave much thought to how they were produced. I guess I assumed they were just sugar and some other common ingredients.
I don't think modern marshmellows contain any marsh mellow. They are usually just water, sugar and gelatine. They are easy to make at home, fun project if you have kids
TIL.
In Icelandic it’s sykurpúði = sugar cushion 😄
This one I can really get behind
I love this so much!
In Danish it's skumfidus which means foam thingie.
Literally “foam thingie”? I love that!
Am danish can confirm, it translates to "foam thingy". Never actually thought about it before lol, though a fun name indeed
What do you call the sponge you use to clean dishes?
Skuresvamp, which translates to scrubbing sponge.
Let me blow your mind: Danes don’t use a sponge for washing up. They would consider it very unhygienic and the traditional Anglo-Saxon washing up sponge as something you’d use to clean the toilet with.
Instead they use a brush on a sort of angled stick.
Hey! I'm danish, and I use a sponge!!! :)
Whaaaaaaaaa?????
I’ve literally never seen any Danes do that. Whereabouts in Denmark are you, if you don’t mind me asking?
Copenhagen
There's an imposter among us.
Danes love these explicit names. Poultry is “fjerkræ”. Literally beaked beasts.
Im sorry to correct you, but beaked beast translates to næbdyr, which is a creature of itself... typically accompanied by two creative boys, with oddly shaped heads, called phineas ans ferb.
The translation of fjerkræ is probably closer to feathered beast
Hey, hvor er Perry?
Er seriøst ved ar være for længe siden jeg sidst så det
I'm German and that is bullshit. Never heard of mäusespeck, everyone just calls them marshmallows and they are labeled as marshmallows in the store
EDIT: I was made aware that the Problem seems be that im not a boomer. 30 years ago, when i wasnt alive, they seemed to be called this. In my WG there are people over 30 though and they also never heard of this (hessen)
It was absolutely called Mäusespeck when I was a kid, but that's 35+ years ago.
OK that's the point maybe. I wasn't alive back then.
Where do you live? Mäusespeck is even in the Wikipedia article:
I lived in BaWü and Hessen for over 30 years. Never heard of it.
BaWü here, definitely a thing. Not too common though.
BaWü here, definitely not aware of it.
Sincerely, south of Stuttgart.
Might be too me being an extremely experienced teenager. Like, decades of experience.
Sincerely, a bit too the north of you.
Nett hier.
So you have never been grocery shopping 30 years ago? I'm sure in the 90s it was the common name on the Products. Now it's gone.
Hessen, but people made me aware, that it was called this when I wasn't born and people where bad at English.
I'm German too and we totally used Mäusespeck in the 80s/90s. I guess you're just younger, today people know what marshmallows are (and speak better English in general).
Ghostbusters killed it with the Marshmallow Man.
Der Mäusespeckmann <3
Not too unexpected for a pre 1990s thing IMO.
Classic Germans discussing about their own language
Mäusespeck exists, but it's something slightly different. It's the sugared rhombus of the fluffy stuff, and packed in those triangle clear bags.
Reading about it, it seems they are in fact all the same. Even the white haribo mice. TIL.
I google "mäusespeck" and I get a picture of marshmallows, and a wikipedia article talking about marshmallows https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/M%C3%A4usespeck
In Finnish it's 'vaahtokarkki' which translates to foamcandy.
What do you call cotton candy?
Hattara. Just a made-up word.
All words are made-up words.
Hattara is even more mader-upper!
I dunno man, that word has some fun archaic meanings based on something being "tatters" or "clouds". https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hattara I particularly like "A female forest troll or race of trolls associated with screaming." I think it's called that for the "cloud" meaning.
You're more right than you realize, and not so archaic really. The texture of clouds, or even clouds themselves, mostly smaller, frizzy kind of clouds are called "pilvenhattara" where pilven is a possesive form of 'pilvi' - 'cloud' and hattara is kind of an abstract descriptive word, at least today. The translation of 'rag, tatter' is a bit more complex and at least a little unrelated. There might be some historic connection, since 'hattara' is kind of a descriptive word that describes (at least for quite a long time) a kind of specific type of clouds appearance, more so a small cloud that kind of just falls apart. It's more like a frayed rag and the 'hattara' specifically pertains to the raggedness/frayed part - like the actual physical/visual quality of it being kind of frailed or jagged, like a cloud and so it does relate to clouds.
Hattara as a mythological thing is a different thing itself and again, might have some historic connection - my best guess would be that the kind of creature it means is something that is kind of 'frayed' like a vision or a fog ora cloud or something and is only seen for a moment. I'm unfamiliar with that one, though I've read a ton about folk beliefs and mythlogy here.
I watch a lot of hockey, so I hear a lot of Finnish names. I find it fun that you can so easily guess that a name or word is Finnish, and hattara is no exception.
It actually sounds similar to "Hatakka", the last name of a Finnish player.
"Vahukomm" in Estonian with the same literal translation.
We call it 棉花糖, which translates to cotton candy... Which gets confusing if we're also talking about cotton candy (the fluffy kind).
Where are you from? I associate that word with cotton Candy but cannot for the life of me think of what a marshmallow is
HK. Yeah, if you asked me out of the blue what 棉花糖 is I would've said cotton candy first but I also had a vague memory of calling marshmallow that too. I had to confirm it with Wikipedia lol.
Hello fellow Hongkonger
Same in Taiwan!
Do you have a different name for the fluffy cotton candy?
No it’s the same. Then again I can’t recall seeing any marshmallow on the shelves when I visit home. I don’t think it’s a common snack in Taiwan but I could be wrong!
It's not common but you can absolutely find some at the candy section in a supermarket.
I’m pretty sure alot of languages just imported marshmallow.
I come from the german speaking part of Switzerland and I don’t think I ever heard someone actually use the word “Mäusespeck” although it certainly would he understood I think. Everybody around me calls them marshmallows.
I live in NRW and have never heard anyone call them Mäusespeck either
I guess you are born in this century. In the 80 it was what was written on the products in the supermarket.
For me "Mäusespeck" are smaller marshmallows that usually come in white and pink and in different shapes. Sometimes the shape of a mouse. Marshmallows are the larger white and cylindrical or cube ones that you put on a stick to roast on a campfire before eating.
You have mouse shaped marshmallows?
Unfair.
In Dutch it's also marshmallows, but also commonly spek (bacon), spekjes (bacon pieces) or spekkies (in this case it's clear you're not talking about bacon).
Now you have me curious since this is the second language, why bacon?
The original candy looked like this: https://cdn.webshopapp.com/shops/282420/files/297921342/890x820x1/confiserie-a-lancienne-spekjes-roze-wit-doos-2-kg.jpg
Which with some imagination can be similar to bits of bacon. Marshmallows are somewhat similar candy so the name is used for that too at times.
In our local dialect it's "nunnebiln" ~ nonnenbillen, which I'd translate to nuns buttocks.
We also have nuns farts, but that's another sweet for another day 😆
Can it please be another day already? I want to be initiated in the world of nun's farts.
Haha. They are a kind of small profiteroles with whipped cream.
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/815fecaec178a30c45428056c578209176f50f65/186_0_7324_7321/master/7324.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8b8be2d9ccc716d6cbb4a883e4915c17
Because, well, a nuns farts would be white of course.
In our local dialect it's "nunnebiln" ~ nonnenbillen, which I'd translate to nuns buttocks.
We also have nuns farts, but that's another sweet for another day 😆
Julle Nederlanders is maar 'n vreemde volk :p
Malvavisco (Spanish).
True, but I would say that nube (cloud) is more common.
Never seen them as Nubes, only malbabiscos o marshmallows. Which country calls them nubes?
Spain
Funny how Spanish changed between latin America and Spain after all this time. Always heard malvavisco, never nube for them in Costa Rica.
Bombón Spanish mexico
In Polish we call them pianka, diminutive for foam
Nein, davon weiß ich absolut nichts. Das ist regional allerhöchstens oder ein Synonym für Marshmallow.
Google translate "No, I know absolutely nothing about that. That's regional at most or a synonym for marshmallow."
You should name it sugar pillow or better we should all name it sugar pillow in our language.
Zuckerkissen
Nobody wants to kiss that dude.
It means sugar pillow. You’re thinking of „Zuckerkuss“ which means sugar kiss.
More like sugar don't kiss, amiright?
Ich kenne das auch so wie OP.
Kenn ich auch nicht
Doch
Oohhh
Schaumzucker (German), literally "foam sugar"
Also "Mäusespeck", mouse bacon.
I've read that somewhere, too.
Yeah, it reminds me of Schaumzucker (German), literally "foam sugar".
According to my German FIL, it could also be "Mäusespeck", mouse bacon.
Couldn't that also describe cotton candy? Or would that be more like felt sugar?
Cotton candy is Zuckerwatte, lit. sugar wool
Guimauve
Ou mâche-mâlo en bon Québécois.
Quel génie !
That's what is on the French packaging in Canada. In France I've seen Chamallows.
French gang
Same cognate the Spanish but opposite. Hibiscus-mallow
We didn't bother translating, so it's marshmallow. Sometimes written phonetically, maršmelou.
What language?
Czech.
Is this Czech?
Yep.
Is this Yep?
Czech!
It Chechs out then
No, this is Patrick!
Skumfidus 🇩🇰
"Foam trick" i guess, is the literal translation.
Fidus is a weird word.
Fidus also means dims/dingenot which seems like the more correct use of the word in this context. The translation for that would be thingamajig.
Never heard of that in German. It's just marshmallows with a generic German accent instead. But it's cool to learn something new. Which region says that, OP?
All the regions, just lost in time. It was sold by Haribo under that name in the 80s, it's why you can still get "süße Mäuse" or "weiße Mäuse" from Haribo and why it's generally often presented in mouse-form.
Marshmallow only became more popular when younger generations spoke English more often.
Omg, really ? That makes sense ! I just accepted the mouse thing as a willy wonka side effect. Didn't realize this could be a part of the history
Guimauve or Purple mistletoe for whatever reason.
Because of the plant it used to be made of. It' a Gui Mauve plant in french, or a Marsh Mallow in english. Scientific name: Althaea officinalis
Funny bc I'm not sure we'll called it guimauve in french. Will say it's made out of guimauve and reserve the term guimauve for candy made the same way but with other form and colour.
Also, it's unfortunate that guimauves, including marshmallow, are not gelatinased from marsh mallow roots anymore. It use to be vegan.
So it's not using the idea of "mauve" as in the color in the name but instead the idea of "mallow/malva" as in the plant. In english those ended up being two different words with the same root. The mistletoe actually was originally refering to hibiscus in the latin, but changed. Origin of the confectuary from the marsh mallow plant comes from Ancient Egypt, so this is actually all descended from Latin/Greek
In Norwegian marshmallow is just marshmallow, but if something has marshmallow bits or marshmallow like properties (like say the white stuff in a bag of Haribos) it's called "skum", which means foam
Yep så etr denn kommentsrn å vurderte zkrive an sjøl.
Malvaviscos. En español.
Cognate with "Mallow hibiscus". It's all the swamp flower in the end. The marshmallow plant sap was originally used to make them.
🤯 marsh mallow, a plant
Also bonbon
Maybe in your country, but I think in most of hispanic would a Bombom or bonbon or whatever, is a chocolate ball.
מרשמלו
Mrshmlo for those wondering. Hebrew is a "work out the remaining vowels yourself" language
žužu in Czech (ž as the first sound in Zhukov), but it's often called marshmallow as well (especially the iconic/most common form).
Mályvacukor (hungarian) - translates to mallow candy / mallow sugar
We called it 'pillecukor'.
Yepp. And for the non-hungarian speakers: "pille" is a synonym for "pehely" which is the flake part from e.g. snowflake.
So basically sugarflake.
Mályva is closer to the original latin Malva than even most romance languages do.
Here in Mexico (Spanish) is known as Bombón. A quick Google search says that apparently comes from the repetition of the french word 'bon'
It is worth to mention that, despite most of the countries in Latin America speak Spanish, things have different names in different countries, even if it's the same language.
According to Wikipedia, marshmallows are also known as
"bonbon" in French means candy
My native language is German but I lived in Spain for a long time and there they call them "nubes", clouds.
Malvavisco in Spanish as others mentioned, but in Chile we also call some varieties "guagüitas" (little babies) for some reason
There isn’t a word for it.
Just marshmallow in Brazilian Portuguese. Natives tend to pronounce it closer to something more like mah-she-mello, in my experience.
Vahukomm in estonian
Foam candy
I Italian they are just "marshmallows", but interesting enough, in the Ghostbuster film Italian's dub it was translated with "gnocchi di lichene".
I'm Italian and I don't have the minimum idea of what the hell is a lichene.
マシュマロ
Japanese
Mashumaro? I guess that works.
Nice username. I'm seeing them in concert next month!
That looks like an ascii emoji.
Esponjitas in spanish (Little sponges)
Some people also call them Nubes (clouds)
marshmallow or just shmalo
Smello 👃
In Mexican Spanish they're known as "bombones".
Like bonbons?
Yeah I wonder which word was used first.
French, apparently.
"Spekje" in Dutch
"зефир" in Russian, sounds like "zefir"
Is it, really? Зефир is quite different in taste and texture, imo, I would't eat it if I would crave marshmallows and vice versa.
It is sometimes called that, other times it is 'маршмеллоу", which sounds just like marshmallows ("marshmallow").
chamallo in french sometimes. otherwise marshmallow
Pianka
Pianki (which is literally just foam in english)
A marsh melon.
ee: vahukomm = (i forgor)
Direct translation back to English would be "Foam candy"
pillecukor. altough, we really have one kind of marshmallow here, and it's not the one you put into a bonfire or your hot chocolate