Word Origins: Blancmange
June 26th, 2008 at 10:12 am (Crumbs)
The word blancmange derives from Old French blanc mangier. The name “whitedish” is a modern term used by some historians, though the name historically was either a direct translation from or a calque of the Old French term. Many different local or regional terms were used for the dish in the Middle Ages:
- English: blancmanger, blankmanger, blank maunger, blomanger, blamang
Catalan: manjar blanch (Old Catalan; nowadays it would be menjar blanc)
Portuguese: manjar branco
Italian: mangiare bianco, blanmangieri, bramangere
Spanish: manjar blanco
Dutch/Flemish: blanc mengier
German: blamensir
Latin: albus cibus, esus albus
Though it is fairly certain that the etymology is indeed “white dish”, medieval sources are not always consistent as to the actual color of the dish. Food scholar Terence Scully has proposed the alternative etymology of bland mangier, “bland dish”, reflecting its often mild and “dainty” (in this context meaning refined and aristocratic) taste and popularity as a sick dish.
From Wikipedia.
