1 a a sweet sauce made by dissolving sugar in boiling water, often used for preserving fruit etc. b a similar sauce of a specified flavour as a drink, medicine, etc. (rose-hip syrup).
2 condensed sugar-cane juice; part of this remaining uncrystallized at various stages of refining; molasses, treacle.
3 excessive sweetness of style or manner.
Derivatives:
syrupy adj.
Etymology: ME f. OF sirop or med.L siropus f. Arab. sarab beverage: cf. SHERBET, SHRUB(2)
Useful english dictionary. 2012.