▪ I. jell, v. orig. U.S. colloq.
(dʒɛl)
[Back-formation from jelly n.1]
1. intr. To become a jelly; to congeal or jelly. Also fig., to take definite or satisfactory shape; = crystallize v. 5. Cf. gel v. Hence jelled ppl. a.
| 1830–40 [Remembered by F. Hall]. 1869 L. M. Alcott Little Women II. 60 The jelly won't jell. 1874 L. M. Alcott Little Women Wedded v, She reboiled, resugared, and restrained, but that dreadful stuff wouldn't jell. 1879 Scribner's Mag. XIX. 823/1 One of the gravest questions in the domestic economy, whether the jelly will ‘jell’. 1902 Fortn. Rev. June 1021 (heading) Why a nerve tends to ‘jell’. 1908 Daily Chron. 20 Mar. 3/3 [He] remarked of his countrywomen's minds that they ‘didn't jell’; but he possibly, and mistakenly, thought he was talking American. 1937 Maclean's Mag. 15 Apr. 17/3 Davis shook his head, but the look of innocent disclaimer in his cherubic eyes didn't quite jell. 1956 K. Farrell Cost of Living 138 ‘Not going well?’ ‘Hardly going at all. Even the cat book doesn't quite jell.’ 1958 K. Amis I like it Here ix. 113 His uncertainty..now felt more or less permanently jelled. 1958 Observer 18 May 10/5 Let jell in cool larder. 1959 P. H. Johnson Unspeakable Skipton iv. 26 They did the music by itself, later, at the Wigmore Hall, but it didn't jell. 1970 Times 5 Dec. 21/1 The present Parliament is only two parliamentary months old.., and although it will jell in time, it has not yet done so. 1972 Times Lit. Suppl. 12 Jan. 45/5 Somehow his case against RTZ as a sort of Hydra does not quite jell. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 24/3 These detective novels were written very fast, read extremely well, and, as Himes told me: ‘They worked. They jelled.’ |
2. trans. = jellify v. 1. Also fig., to give shape to; to make clear and definite.
| 1905 Dialect Notes III. 62 Jell, make or turn into jelly. 1935 Forres Gaz. 6 Nov. 4/5 To jell (to firm jelly). 1941 A. J. Cronin Keys of Kingdom (1942) ii. 20 The tea was delicious, the scones and bannocks home-made, the preserves jelled by Elizabeth's own hands. 1948 Newsweek 10 May 58/3 The studio also ordered that no scripts be bought unless it was certain they could be jelled onto film. 1968 J. M. Ziman Public Knowl. v. 91 The course work is too rich a diet, and the knowledge it contains has been jelled too soon. |
▪ II. jell, n. orig. U.S.
(dʒɛl)
[f. the vb.]
A jelly or gel.
| 1870 ‘F. Fern’ Ginger-Snaps 262 My excellent country friends put up pounds and quarts of ‘jell’ every fall. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 423/1 Allow it to boil briskly, without stirring, until a jell is obtained on testing. 1959 Listener 11 June 1043/1 The sticky jells given by other starches such as tapioca and arrowroot. |