WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS RELATED TO ROMAN FOOD

• marmalade, foie gras, companion  

 "MARMALADE"

ENGLISH WORD: “marmalade”, “quince”.

CURRENT MEANING: the marmalade is a sweet made by boiling the pulp of fruits with sugar. The quince is the fruit of the Quince, and is often used to make the marmalade and other sweets.

ORIGIN: the term marmalade derives from the Latin word melimelum (a kind of apple) and in turn comes from Greek melimelon (meli “honey” and melon “apple”) and it refers to a mixture of quince with honey. In Portugal kept the original meaning, i.e., sweet quince and then went to other countries with an expanded meaning. The term quince comes from Latin word malum cotoneum, “quince fruit”, probably a variant that comes from Greek Kydonion malon, “apple of Kydonia” (from Kydonia, ancient seaport city in Creta).

 

"FOIE GRAS"

ENGLISH WORD: “foie gras”.

CURRENT MEANING: the liver of specially geese or ducks fattened by force-feeding and this term is also used to refer to a table delicacy, in the form of a paste.

ORIGIN: it comes from de Latin word ficatum, goose liver fattened with figs, because the Romans believed that figs turned into something delicious the liver of these animals.

 

 

A bas relief depiction of overfeeding geese. 

 

"COMPANION"

ENGLISH WORD: “companion”.

CURRENT MEANING: a person with which any activity or work is shared.

ORIGIN: it comes from the Latin term companio, formed by cum “with” and panis “bread”, i.e., those that share the bread are companions.

 

Sale of bread at a market stall. Roman fresco from the Praedia of Julia Felix in Pompeii. Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples).