/bayn"meuh ree"/ ; Fr. /baonn mann rddee"/ , n. , pl. bains-marie /bayn"meuh ree"/ ; Fr. /baonn mann rddee"/ .
1. (in cooking) a receptacle containing hot or boiling water into which other containers are placed to warm or cook the food in them.
2. Brit. a double boiler.
[ 1815-25; balneum Mariae lit., bath of Mary, reputed to be a Jewish alchemist who devised such a heating technique, and sometimes identified with Moses' sister Miriam ]