MOLASSES  , the

syrup obtained from the drainings of raw sugar or from sugar during the process of refining . In American usage the word usually applies to both forms of the syrup, but in English usage the second form is more usually known as " treacle " (see SUGAR) . The word, which in early forms appears as melasses, molassos, &c., is from the Port. mela4o, or Fr. melasse, cf. the Late Lat. mellaceum, syrup made from honey (mel) . The geological term " molasse " must be distinguished; this word, applied to the soft greenish sandstone of the district between the Jura and the Alps, is French, meaning " soft," Lat. mollis .