# saccharine

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈsækəɹaɪn/ · frequency rank #54,453

## Definitions
1. Of or relating to sugar; sugary.
2. Containing a large or excessive amount of sugar.
3. Excessively sweet in action or disposition, especially if romantic or sentimental to the point of ridiculousness; sickly sweet, syrupy.
4. Resembling granulated sugar; saccharoid.

## Etymology
From New Latin saccharum (“sugar”) + English -ine (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Saccharum is derived from saccharon (“syrupy liquid from bamboo or reeds”), from Ancient Greek σάκχαρον (sákkharon), from Pali sakkharā (“sugar; gravel; granule, grain; crystal; potsherd”), from Sanskrit शर्करा (śárkarā, “ground or candied sugar; cotton sugar, sugarmaple; gravel, grit, pebbles; potsherd”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ (“boulder; gravel”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/saccharine