Candy
mid 17th century (as a verb): the noun use is from late Middle English sugar-candy, from French sucre candi ‘crystallized sugar’, from Arabic sukkar ‘sugar’ + qandī ‘candied’, based on Sanskrit khaṇḍa ‘fragment’.
wiktionary
From Middle English sugre candy, from Old French sucre candi(literally “candied sugar”), from Arabic سُكَّر قَنْدِي (sukkar qandī), from Arabic قَنْد (qand, “rock candy”), from Persian کند (kand); likely from Sanskrit खण्ड(khaṇḍa, “piece, fragment, candied sugar, dried molasses”), root खण्ड्(khaṇḍ, “to divide, break into pieces”), or from Proto-Dravidian *kaṇṭu; compare Tamil கண்டு(kaṇṭu, “hard candy”). [1]
From Marathi खंडी(khaṇḍī), from Sanskrit खण्डन(khaṇḍana), from root खण्ड्(khaṇḍ, “to divide, break into pieces”).
etymonline
candy (n.)
late 13c., "crystallized sugar," from Old French çucre candi "sugar candy," ultimately from Arabic qandi, from Persian qand "cane sugar," probably from Sanskrit khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian (compare Tamil kantu "candy," kattu "to harden, condense").
The sense gradually broadened (especially in U.S.) to mean by late 19c. "any confection having sugar as its basis." In Britain these are sweets, and candy tends to be restricted to sweets made only from boiled sugar and striped in bright colors. A candy-pull (1865) was a gathering of young people for making (by pulling into the right consistency) and eating molasses candy.
candy (v.)
"preserve or encrust with sugar," 1530s, from candy (n.). Related: Candied; candying.
