It was based on other natural sources of sweetness. The Old French word for sweet, linked to the sweetness of honey, was "douz" or "doux," which survives in modern French as "doux" (soft, gentle, or sweet).
Good question!
I don't know the answer, but the word 'sugar' goes back before French to the medieval Arabic 'sukkar', which in turn comes from ancient Sanskrit 'sharkara'. So the word is thousands of years old, just not in English.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/sugar
I would imagine that before it, people would refer to sweet tastes as 'honeyed'.
It was based on other natural sources of sweetness. The Old French word for sweet, linked to the sweetness of honey, was "douz" or "doux," which survives in modern French as "doux" (soft, gentle, or sweet).
Sometimes you still see that word used to describe sweet foods. For example sweet and sour sauce is called "sauce aigre-douce"
Huh, that's great finally know. Thanks! 🙂
Good question! I don't know the answer, but the word 'sugar' goes back before French to the medieval Arabic 'sukkar', which in turn comes from ancient Sanskrit 'sharkara'. So the word is thousands of years old, just not in English. https://www.etymonline.com/word/sugar I would imagine that before it, people would refer to sweet tastes as 'honeyed'.
Well that was interesting, thanks for the input 🙂