Yeahh, as much as I’d like to eat up Carmel in a visit, the city would not go down as easily as caramels.
In this word confusion, a writer got confused (or hungry?) and thought they were visiting Caramel, California. Sure, Carmel is one “a” short of caramel, but this typo makes me think more fantasy than tour guide.
Caramels are usually thought of as that yummy buttery, nutty flavor used to sweeten food, although it’s also a color.
Carmel is strictly “proper” as either a city in California or mountain range in Israel.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| caramel | Carmel |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Plural: caramels |
Proper Noun
Plural: Carmel |
| Noun: [Cooking] Sugar or syrup heated until it turns brown, used as a flavoring or coloring for food or drink or combined with butter or cream to form a thick, sweet sauce
|
Proper Noun: A city in west central California, a resort on the Pacific Ocean, south of Monterey A group of mountains near the Mediterranean coast in northwestern Israel, sheltering the port of Haifa |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: You must try this chocolate-caramel ice cream. Apples dipped in caramel are one of those tasty memories. Has anyone seen the bag of caramels? The overall color scheme is pale caramel and chocolate. I have this yummy caramel sweater. |
Proper Noun: Carmel is noted as an artists’ and writers’ colony. Visit us in Carmel. Carmel’s formal name is Carmel-by-the-Sea. Mount Carmel was the scene of the defeat of the priests of Baal by the prophet Elijah (I Kings 18). The port of Haifa is sheltered by Mount Carmel. The Carmelites are a contemplative Catholic order founded at Mount Carmel during the Crusades. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: caramelly, caramely Noun: caramelisation [British], caramelization [US] Verb: caramelise [British], caramelize [US] |
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| History of the Word: | |
| Early 18th century, from the French, from the Spanish caramelo. | In 1602, Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino named the beach and river valley El Rio Carmelo after the Carmelite friars who were traveling with him. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for caramel versus Carmel
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Apple Dictionary.com
The Free Dictionary: Carmel
Pinterest Photo Credits
Carmel-by-the-Sea is Burkhard Mücke‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license and Caramel Apples by Lena is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license.Both are via Wikimedia Commons.
