[sug.ar] n [ME sugre, sucre, fr. MF sucre, fr. ML zuccarum, fr. OIt zucchero, fr. Ar sukkar, fr. Per shakar, fr. Skt sarkara; akin to Skt sarkara pebble--more at crocodile] (14c) 1 a: a sweet crystallizable material that consists wholly or essentially of sucrose, is colorless or white when pure tending to brown when less refined, is obtained commercially from sugarcane or sugar beet and less extensively from sorghum, maples, and palms, and is important as a source of dietary carbohydrate and as a sweetener and preservative of other foods b: any of various water-soluble compounds that vary widely in sweetness and include the oligosaccharides (as sucrose)
2: a unit (as a spoonful, cube, or lump) of sugar
3: a sugar bowl -- sug.ar.less adj
[2]sugar vb sug.ared ; sug.ar.ing vt (15c) 1: to make palatable or attractive: sweeten
2: to sprinkle or mix with sugar ~ vi 1: to form or be converted into sugar
2: to become granular: granulate
3: to make maple syrup or maple sugar