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Glite Dictionary
sugar-plum

sugar-plum

1 8.4
A loving name for a child or someone you love
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌɡər plʌm/
  • Archaic
translation icon : caramelo
  • Goodbye, my little sugar-plum, I will miss you!
  • little sugar-plum

Examples

  • Well, so long, my little sugar plum.

    Annie Oakley (1935)

  • She called her daughter sugar-plum with a warm smile.

  • I baked cookies for my sugar-plum to enjoy after school.

Synonyms

sweet pea
vssugar-plum
  • Baby Talk
8 3.0

A loving name adults use for a child or pet

is used more broadly for any child or loved one
babycakes
vssugar-plum
  • Informal
1 8.6

A playful name for a boyfriend or girlfriend

is used for children or general loved people rather than romantic partners

How Affectionate

sweetheart
  • Informal
∞ 1.0
sugar-plum
  • Archaic
1 8.4
darling
  • Informal
∞ 1.0
dear
  • Informal
29 1.0

Surface Forms

sugar-plum singular
sugar-plums plural

Morphology

sugar-plum = sugar + plum (semi-transparent) = sugar + plum

The components 'sugar' and 'plum' are literal and evoke sweetness, but the affectionate pet-name sense is figurative rather than a direct reference to the candy.

Etymology

The word sugar-plum comes from a sweet candy made by coating fruit or nuts with sugar, which people long ago called a plum. Because the candy was 'sweet', people began to call a child or loved one a sugar-plum to mean someone 'dear', so the word now is a loving name.